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The Legends of SS. Ninian and Machor 



The Legends 

of 

SS. Ninian and Machor 



Jfrom an Winique ift&, in tfje Scottfsfc 
Etalect of t\>t JFoutttenVb fficnturs 



Edited, with Introduction, Notes, <S" Glossary 

By 

W. M. Metcalfe, D.D. 



PAISLEY: ALEXANDER GARDNER 

Qx&Uehu b$ £,pf<mttmmt to tht Mi Qiutn Victarit 

1^04 



^.1\$b•%i 



LONDON : 
SIMPKIN,' MARSHALL, HAMILTON, KENT & CO., LMD. 



PRINTED BY ALEXANDER GARDNER PAISLEY. 



PREFACE 



Some years ago I edited for the Scottish Text Society 
the entire series of Legends to which the two here 
printed belong. I have chosen these for separate 
editing because, in the first place, I agree with Dr. 
Horstmann that they are the two best legends in the 
series, and, in the second, because they are the only 
two out of the fifty Legends that make up the series 
that deal with Scottish Saints. 

Like other Legends of the Saints, they are valuable 
not only because of the language in which they are 
told, but also because of the insight they afford into the 
manners and customs of the past and of the hints they 
furnish respecting the moral and intellectual atmosphere 
prevailing among those for whom they were written 
and by whom they were listened to and read. 

The Introduction was written and printed off some 
time ago. Had I to write it now, I might modify one 
or two of the phrases, but I do not think I should make 
any substantial alteration upon anything I have said. 

Since the Introduction was written an accident has 
compelled me to go over the two Legends again and to 
examine again the arguments advanced by Dr. Neilson 
for the Barbour authorship of the Legends. Further 
study has only convinced me more thoroughly of the 
untenableness of that theory and of the correctness of 



6 PREFACE. 

the suggestions I threw out, that Barbour had nothing 
to do with the authorship of the Legends, and that 
they were written by various unknown hands. 

In the following pages I have dealt more freely with 
the text than I felt myself at liberty to deal with it 
when editing the whole of the Legendary. My object 
then was to depart as little as possible from the MS. 
Here my endeavour has been to give a readable text, 
but, owing to the corrupt state of the text in the MS., 
in one or two places I have failed. 

With these exceptions, I have given in the Notes 
what I believe may be regarded as at least defendable 
explanations of all the difficult places. 

Owing to the accident referred to above, I have had 
to re -write the Glossary. It does not profess to be a 
complete index, but it is full enough, I hope, to be of 
use to lexicographers, as well as to the reader. 

The issue of this volume will, I trust, contribute to 
the revival of the study of the old Scots literature, 
which scarcely deserves the neglect with which it is at 
present treated in our Schools and Universities. 

W. M. M. 

August, 1904. 



CONTENTS 



Preface, - ... 5 
Introduction — 

I. — The Manuscript, ... 9 

II. — Contents of the Manuscript, - - 12 

III. — Sources, - - - 13 

IV. — Authorship, - - 14 

V.— Date, - - - - - 18 

S. Ninian, - - - - - 22 

S. Machor, ----- 31 

S. Ninian, - - - - - - 39 

S. Machor, - - - 85 

Notes, ------ 135 

Appendices, - - - - - 185 

I. — The Life of S. Ninian, - - - 187 

II.— The Life of S. Machor, - - 210 

Glossary, - - - - - - 215 



INTRODUCTION. 



I. — THE MANUSCRIPT. 

The two Scottish legends which are here printed are taken 
from a MS. in the University Library, Cambridge, where it 
bears the press-mark Gg II., 6. Apparently it is unique, no 
other manuscript copy of the legends it contains being known, 
with the exception of a transcript made some years ago and 
afterwards revised and corrected by Mr. Rogers of the Uni- 
versity Library, Cambridge, for the use of the Scottish Text 
Society. 

The history of the MS. down to the beginning of the 
eighteenth century is unknown. It was then, however, in the 
possession of Dr. John Moore, who died Bishop of Ely, July 
31, 1714. Where he obtained it is not known ; but when, in 
1715, his library was purchased by George I. for 6000 guineas^ 
the MS. along with his other MSS. and books, was presented 
by the King to the library of the University of Cambridge. 
There it remained unknown for many years, until it was dis- 
covered by Mr. Henry Bradshaw, late librarian to the 
University, who was in the habit of showing it to his friends, 
and first made public mention of it in the year 1866,* the year 
in which he discovered the Troy Book, which along with the 



Cambridge Antiquarian Society, Rep. 1866, pp. in, et seq. 
A 



io INTRODUCTION. 

Legendary referred to he attributed to John Barbour, Arch- 
deacon of Aberdeen, and author of The Bruce. 

On the last fly-leaf of the MS. occur the words " Ketherine 
Greham with my hand Finis," in the handwriting of the seven- 
teenth century, which may perhaps justify the inference that a 
certain but unknown Catharine Graham was in the seven- 
teenth century its possessor. Her name would also seem to 
indicate that she was a Scotswoman. 

The MS. is eleven inches in length, three and three-six- 
teenths broad, and two and a half inches thick. The paper, 
which was once probably white, is now of a dirty white or 
whitey-brown colour. Though bearing the marks of the 
binder's knife, the MS. is in a fair state of preservation, and 
has on the whole been tenderly dealt with. The original 
stamped calf binding of the fifteenth century, from which the 
clasps are wanting, still remains, but in a somewhat dilapidated 
condition, and exhibits signs of ancient repairs, from which it 
would appear that the Legendary it contains was once in 
much request. The sheets are loose and the covers are 
separate. At the beginning is an index with the titles of the 
Legends in Latin, and the order in which they occur in the MS. 
marked with Roman numerals. 

The fly-leaf at the end on which Ketherine Greham has 
written her name, seems to have been used at some time 
by a Scots man or woman for making memoranda upon. 
Though the writing is scarcely legible, such words as " item 
twa bandis " and " item twa sarkis " can be made out upon it. 
For the purpose of fastening some of the leaves together, ap- 
parently insertions, the binder has used a strip of parchment, 
once intended to bear a charter, with the words " Jacobus Dei 
gratia rex Scottorum," etc., written upon one side of it in a 
fifteenth century hand. 



INTRODUCTION. n 

The MS. has now 365 leaves, each of which is written upon 
both sides. The pagination, which has been done by a later 
hand, leaps from 300 to 331, and again from 332 to 334, and 
then continues consecutively, so that the last folio bears the 
number 395. The number of lines to the page varies from 40 
to 56, but generally the number is about 43. The handwriting 
belongs to the Scottish type of the fifteenth century, and is 
small, cursive, crabbed and careless, and often difficult to read. 
In one or two places it is illegible. The greater part of the 
writing is by one hand ; but two other hands have been em- 
ployed upon it, apparently for the purpose of filling in what 
for some reason or other had been omitted by the principal 
copyist. 

As will be seen, the MS. is not complete. The conclusion 
to the Ninian legend is wanting, and with it the beginning of 
the Agnes legend which follows it. Between 11. 1004 and 
1005 in the Machor legend, a leaf, or from 85 to 100 lines are 
lost. There are other defects, but these are all that need to be 
mentioned here. 

On the margins the more difficult words of the text are 
frequently explained by later hands, sometimes with more 
modern words and sometimes, where the Aurea Legenda is 
the source of the legend, with the Latin word or words, usually 
followed by Lh or hL — i.e., Lombardica Historia. On the 
margin of fol. 22 the beginning of the Lord's Prayer is written 
in a bold hand. The name of the Saint whose legend is told 
below, is written at the top of each page. The initial letters 
are written in red ink up to the end of the first fourteen 
foil., after which they fail, though the spaces for them are left. 
Usually a fresh hand had to be called in to supply them, and 
their absence may probably be accounted for by the indif- 
ference, negligence, or poverty of the original owner. 



12 INTRODUCTION. 

II. — CONTENTS OF THE MANUSCRIPT. 

The MS. contains the legends of fifty Apostles, Evangelists 
and Saints with two prologues. They occur in "the following 
order : — 

i. The legends of the Apostles, including the legends of 
SS. Paul and Matthias, and a Prologue. The legends of 
SS. Simon and Jude are told together under the heading 
" Simon and Jude." The story of Judas Iscariot is related 
in the legend of S. Matthias. The legend of S. Paul contains 
the history of Nero, and that of S. James the Less, the story 
of the destruction of Jerusalem. 

2. The legends of the Evangelists SS. Mark and Luke, with 
a Prologue. On these follows the legend of S. Barnabas, with 
an introduction explaining why his story is given here and not 
among the legends of the Apostles. 

3. The legends of Mary Magdalene and Martha as after the 
Virgin Mary the two principal women of the Gospels. 

4. The legend of Mary of Egypt. 

5. A group of nine legends — those viz., of Christopher, 
Blaise, Clement, Lawrence, the Seven Sleepers, Alexius, the 
three Julians, with that of the Emperor Julian, Nicolas and 
Machor. 

6. A group of eight legends, mostly of women — viz., Mar- 
garet, Theodora, Eugenia, Justina, Pelagia, Thais, but including 
those of Eustace (Placidas) and George, " owre lady knycht." 

7. A group of five legends — viz., those of John the Baptist, 
Vincent, Adrian, Cosmas and Damian, and Ninian. 

8. A group of ten legends of Virgins — viz., Agnes, Agatha, 
Cecilia, Lucy, Christina, Anastasia, Euphemia, Juliana, Thecla 
and Katharine. 

With the exception of the first seventeen the legends are 
arranged on no known principle. Those of the Apostles are 



INTRODUCTION. 13 

arranged in the order in which according to one tradition the 
Apostles are supposed to have uttered the articles of the 
Apostles' Creed. The order of the following five is what 
might naturally be expected. But that of the remaining 
thirty-three appears to be quite fortuitous ; or they may 
have been so arranged, because it was in this order that the 
legends were given to the copyist to transcribe, and if so, it 
probably indicates the order in which the copies of the Saints 
lives were procured by those for whom the Collection was 
being made. Practically, however, the question is one that 
cannot be settled. 

The number of lines in the MS. is 33,533. 

In the MS. the Ninian legend is No. xl., and that of Machor 
No. xxvii. Here they have been transposed and placed in the 
chronological order of the Saints. The pagination of the MS. 
has, however, been retained for convenience of reference. 

III.— SOURCES. 

As in other Legendaries of the period containing the same or 
similar legends, the source chiefly used in their compilation was 
the Legenda Aurea. Other sources have also been used. For 
the materials for the lives of the Apostles and other Biblical 
characters, the author or authors while making use of the 
Scripture narratives, have drawn largely upon the Apocryphal 
Gospels. For the story of the destruction of Jerusalem the 
narrative of Josephus has been used. The account of the 
death of S. Andrew is taken from the Epistle of the Elders of 
Achaia. As for the rest of the legends, while the Aurea 
Legenda is the principal source, the Vitse Patrum, the Specu- 
lum Historiale of Vincentius Bellovacensis and other tradi- 
tional sources have been used. In very few of the legends 
is the text of any one particular authority slavishly followed. 



H INTRODUCTION. 

All through the writer or writers of the legends have exercised 
considerable freedom in the selection of their materials ; in- 
cidents mentioned by one authority are omitted, and others 
mentioned by others than the principal source are narrated. 

The main source for the Ninian legend is Ailred's Life of 
S. Ninian. Here also the author exercises great freedom in 
the selection of his material. Several passages and incidents 
narrated by Ailred are omitted, while other incidents of a more 
recent date, one of which, indeed, happened to a personal 
friend of the writer, are recorded. This will be seen on com- 
paring the text with the translation of Ailred's Life which will 
be found in Appendix A at the end of this volume. 

The Machor legend has been taken from an old Latin Life 
of the Saint which is now lost, but was evidently known to 
O'Donnell, the author of the fifth Life of S. Columba in 
Colgan's Trias Thaumaturga and to the compiler of the office 
for the Saint in the Aberdeen Breviary.* A translation 
of the summary of the Life from O'Donnell is given in 
Appendix B. 

IV. — AUTHORSHIP. 

The author of the Legends here printed as well as the 
authorship of the Collection from which they are taken is un- 
known. Mr. Bradshaw, and after him Dr. Horstmann, attri- 
buted the whole of the Collection to John Barbour, Archdeacon 
of Aberdeen, the author of The Bruce, on the ground apparently 
that the Legends are written in a metre and dialect similar to 
those employed in The Bruce. Barbour's claims, however, have 
been carefully examined by Dr. Buss and by him and others 
rejected. 



: Pars astiva, fol. cliv. 



INTRODUCTION. 15 

In the Introduction to the edition of the Legendary which 
I prepared some time ago for the Scottish Text Society * I 
have gone into the question of the authorship of the Collection 
at some length, and while venturing to express my agreement 
with Dr. Buss, f whom Dr. Skeat $ follows, in respect to the 
non-Barbour origin of the Legends, I have also ventured to 
express my dissent from his opinion that they had but one 
author, and to adduce several arguments for the belief that in 
all probability they were the work of several authors. To go 
over the whole ground here would be out of place; I will 
simply repeat the arguments which seem to me to prove that 
Barbour was not the author of the Collection, nor of the two 
Legends before us. 

1. Among the references to Barbour's writings no mention 
occurs of his being the author of a collection of Saints' Lives 
or of his being the author of the Life of any Saint. 

2. The character of the works attributed to him indicate 
that his bias lay towards historical and not to religious sub- 
jects. 

3. Assuming that the Legends are the work of one pen, the 
author must have been a very voluminous writer. The 
Legends themselves extend to 33,533 lines ; but mention is 
also made in them of another work in which the author says 

" I hafe translatit symply 
Sume part, as I land in story, 
Of Mary and her son Ihesu." 



* Legends of the Saints in the Scottish Dialect of the Fourteenth Century, 3 
vols., 1896. 

\ Anglia, ix. 493-514; Sind die von Horstmann herausgegeben Schottischen 
Legenden ein werk Bar here's, von Paul Buss. Halle. 1886. 

X The Bruce. S. S. T. Edit, i., Preface. 



16 INTRODUCTION. 

The contents of this book, he further says, were distributed as 
follows : (a) The Conception, Birth, and Youth of Mary up to 
the Conception of Jesus (Prologue, 45-50) ; (b) The Birth of 
Jesus (51-53), the Flight into Egypt, the Return and Youth of 
Jesus to the Marriage Feast at Cana in Galilee (54) ; (c) the 
subsequent Life of Jesus on to the Ascension (58-62) (d) the 
Descent into Hell (64-68); (e) the Legend of Longinus 
(69-79) ; (/) the Life of Mary continued (81 ff.) ; (g) the 
Compassion of Mary, the Assumption and Coronation of 
Mary (91-92) ; (h) Sixty-six Miracles of Mary. 

If this work was written as the legends are, it could scarcely 
extend to less than 10,000 lines. Forty-three thousand lines is 
a fair amount of work for a life-time, but on the single author- 
ship hypothesis, they were written in much less than a life-time 
— by one who tells us that he was not able to work as " a min- 
ister of Holy Church because of his great age and feebleness." 

This description, again, is said to suit Barbour admirably and 
is taken as one of the reasons, if not as the main reason, for be- 
lieving that he was the author of the legends. But assuming 
that he was — and apart altogether from the question whether it 
is possible for a man who is incapable of discharging his duties 
as a minister of Holy Church because of his great age and 
feebleness to write from 40 to 50 thousand lines — how shall 
we explain the fact that there is not the slightest record of Bar- 
bour having written so great a work by those who professed 
to know and record what he had written? The probability 
is, one would say, that if Barbour had written these legends, 
the memory of the fact would have been cherished ; and yet 
not a single hint of this has anywhere been found. 

4. In the Legends different styles may be traced. The 
Legends of the Apostles are manifestly written by a hand 
different from that which wrote Mary of Egypt. The style of 



INTRODUCTION. 17 

the rest of the legends again differs from that of either and the 
style of The Bruce from that of all of them.* 

More conclusive still than any of the above arguments are 
the following which are taken from Dr. Buss. 

5. The rhyme-system adopted in the Legends is different 
from that adopted in The Bruce. Such a word as he, high, or 
e, ee, eye, Barbour never allows to rhyme with words like be, 
be, he, he or me, me ; or a word with final e pure with a word in 
which the final e was originally followed by a guttural or after 
sound. The Legends do — e.g., be, ey, xxxii., 129, 130 ; hye, be 
!■» 7 2 9> 73° ; me , ee > xi., 49, 50. Barbour, again, avoids rhym- 
ing the French u with u pure and rhymes it rather with 
original ; the Legends, on the other hand, rhyme the French 
u with u pure, as rew (street) now, ii., 575, 576 ; trew, veriu, 
xvi -i 939. 94P J thu, vertu, x., 231, 232 ; now, vertu, xxxiii., 
245, 246. Further, howre, cure, xliv., 193, 194 ; howre, nature, 
v., 283, 284. In the Legends also such rhymes occur as these : 
he, hye ; cite, Ephysy ; wend, mynd ; blend, fynd ; dew ice 
grece ; blis, distress; but not in The Bruce. 

6. In the Legends the use of assonance is frequent ; but in 
The Bruce only a single instance occurs, viz., Bretane, hame, 
xviii., 473, 474. " And the exception," as Dr. Skeat observes, 
" tests the rule ; for Bretane is a proper name, and some slight 
poetical licence is allowable in the case of proper names." 

7. Words and phrases are found in the Legends which are 
not met with in The Bruce, as sythware and its variants ; be- 



* " I well remember my own first impression on reading ' The Legends of the 
of the Saints,' which I may as well record. It was that the language seemed to be 
as strikingly unlike Barbour as it well could be, considering that it is in a similar 
metre and dialect. I wish to add that, in revising this Preface for the Scottish 
Text Society in 1894, I am more than ever convinced that these ' Legends ' . . . 
have nothing to do with Barbour, but are in a different style, and belong to a later 
date."— Dr. Skeat. The Bruce, i„ Ivii. S.S.T. Ed. 



18 INTRODUCTION. 

wist ; the past tense and participle of niman ; era/ and its 
variants ; fyne with its preterite /ane,/yne; witan in the two 
senses of increpare and ire. To these may be added anerdit, 
emplese, gowe, kyth, kyd, mansweris, ourtyrve, gaynit (suited), 
harle, scantly, because, for-quky, caus why, neuirtheles, nocht- 
thane, which though often occurring in the Legends are not 
used by Barbour. 

Of a recent attempt * to prove that Barbour was the author 
of the Ninian Legend from the supposed similarity of the 
narratives in The Bruce, vii., 375-615, and ix., 496-631, with 
that of Ninian, 815-942, it is scarcely necessary to say any- 
thing. Any one who will take the trouble to compare the 
passages will see at once that, though there are some slight 
similarities, the incidents related are wholly different, t 

It seems to me, indeed, that there is not the slightest ground 
for supposing that Barbour wrote the Legends or any one of 
them ; and that for the present, at least, the question as to 
who their author or authors were must be left unanswered. 

V.— DATE. 

The exact date at which the Legends were composed is not 
known, and apparently there is no means of fixing it ; but 
judging by the dialect in which they are written, it must fall 
somewhere between A.D. 1375, and A.D. 1425 ; and probably 
about the close of the fourteenth century. Their language is 
certainly that which Dr. Murray has called Early Lowland 
Scotch. \ Out of 48 words he gives as characteristics of that 
period, 45 occur in the Legends ; the same grammatical 
inflections ; irregular plurals as brethir, childir, ky, oxine, 

* Scottish Antiquary, xi., 102-107. 

+ See the note on 11., 815-942 of the Ninian legend. 

\ Dialed of the Southren Counties of Scotland, pp. 29, et seq. 



INTRODUCTION. 19 

schone, and the possessive as in his fader brother, his syster 
sone, the childer ayris, occur ; also the indefinite article 
identical with the numeral, a before a consonant, ane or 
an otherwise, the demonstratives thir, tha ; the relative at; 
and the verbal inflections thu cumis, clerkis sayis, we that 
lyvis, etc., and the preposition tyl for to. The orthography is 
also the same, though here and there the diphthongs at, ay, 
and ei sometimes take the place of a and e as in the Middle 
Period. From a philological point of view, indeed, the 
Legends stand nearer to The Bruce (a.d. 1375) than they do 
to Wyntoun's Orygynale Cronykil (A.D. 1419-30). 

Another indication as to the period in which the Ninian 
legend, at least, was written, is furnished by one incident re- 
lated in it. It is the incident already referred to as affording, 
in the opinion of Mr. Neilson, an overwhelming proof that the 
author of the Legendary was the Archdeacon Barbour. This 
incident the author says happened during his own life-time 
("that in my tyme befel," 1., 816) and in the reign of David 

II.— 

" This wes done but lessinge 
Quhen Sir Davy Bruys wes King." 

941-2. 

David II.'s reign began in 1329 and ended in 1370, and as 
the author speaks of it as already in the past, the legend must 
have been written not earlier than 1370, but later. When the 
incident happened is another and more difficult question. In 
1353 Fergus MacDowall * was in high favour, and obtained a 
grant of the barony of Borgue.f The probability is that the 

* He was brother to Sir Dungall, and held the offices of Receiver at Holme (in 
1311-12), and Constable of Kirkcudbrightshire. Bain, Calendar of Doc. rel. to 
Scot., iii. x 55 ; Robertson, Index to Charters, 32, 22. 

tAgnew, Sheriffs of Galloway, i., 106. For other references to him see 
Robertson, Index to Charters, 115, 32 and 33, and 124, 6. 



20 INTRODUCTION. 

affair narrated in the legend was one of the services for which 
he received the grant. Assuming that it was, and that the 
author in whose time the incident "befel " was in 1353 about 
twenty-five years of age, by the end of the century his age 
would be about eighty, and as it is not likely that he would 
do much work beyond that age, we have in the close of the 
fourteenth century a date beyond which it is not probable that 
the legend was written. 

Whether the two legends here printed were written by the 
same hand is uncertain, though not improbable. The Machor 
legend was in all likelihood written either in Aberdeen where 
Machor is, or was, the Patron Saint, or in some place not far 
from it, while the acquaintance of the writer of the Ninian 
legend with John Balormy, who was born in Elgin, and " with 
all them that knew him then" (1. 1364) would suggest that 
he also belonged to Aberdeen or to some place not far from it 
and that he wrote his legend there. The circumstance may 
even be taken as a proof that he belonged to the same town or 
district as John Balormy. Anyhow, the dialect and metre of 
the two legends are the same, there is nothing to prove that 
they were not written by the same author, and the facts just 
noted would seem to indicate that they were. 

There is another point to be mentioned. In each of the 
two legends are two passages which are almost identical. For 
the convenience of the reader I will place them side by side 
and mark the places in which they differ by putting the words 
in italics. 

Ninian, 37-60. Machor, 333-354. 

And he, that able wes and yyng, And he that abil was and yyng, 

Foulouyt his mastere in al-thing, Folouyt his mastir in al thing, 

And consauit richt sutely And wald consawe fill sutelly 

Quhat-euir he taucht in til hy, Quhat-euire he taucht in til hy, 

And in his hart wele held It — And in his hart wele held It, 



INTRODUCTION. 



21 



Sic retentywe he had of wit — 
Hafand hyme in sic degre, 
That his ourmen be sutelte 
And les thane hyme be gret meknes 
He oure-come ; and neuire-the-Ies 
He kepyt ay his innocens 
Of al mane but offence. 
And growand sa ay he was 
In vertuse lyfe and in gudnes. 
And fore he had dout to fal, 
Til abstinence he gef hym al, 
And held his fles vndirloute, 
For dred it suld be thra and stout 
Agane the sawle, and gere hym syne, 
Or let hyme hewinly med to wyn, 
Alfouledelythefledfor-thi, etc. 



Ay retentywe he had a wyt, 

And had hym in sic degre 

That his ourmen be sutelte 

And les than he in gret meknes, 

He wald ourecume, and neuir-the-les 

He kepyt ay his innocens 

Of alman but offens. 

And growand ay furth he wes 

In vertu and in gudnes, 

And for he doutyt for to fal, 

Til abstinens he gef hym al, 

And held his flesch vndirlout, 

For dred it suld worth stout 

A-gane the saul, and ger hym syne, 

And let hym hewins bits to wyn, 

And gef hyme to prayere and to wok. 



Ninian, 781-814. 

For at Quhyihorne is wrocht ilke day 
Fer ma vonderis thane I cane say, 
Of Sand Niniane be the prayere 
For men that ar in parilis here, 
One sey, one land, or in seknes, 
Or ony maner of distres ; 
Of the quhilkis, gif I tali nov. 
The teynd part, men suld nocht trev. 
For def men thar gettis herynge, 
And blynd men als parfit seynge ; 
Halt men als thare gettis bute, 
That has seknes in hand ore fute ; 
And dume men als gettis the speke, 
That mekily vil Niniane seke ; 
And als of parlesy 
Men gettis thar heile parfitly ; 
And [sume thru] ydropcy [sa] grete 
Swolline, that thai ma nocht ete, 
Ar swampe mad at the prayere 
Of Sand Niniane, hale and fere ; 
And vthir that thare vit 
Vod war, gettis It ; 



And sume that pane had of the stane, 
Or seknes into flesch or bane, 
Or quhat kyne infirmyte 
Man haf, gyf that he 



Machor, 1581-1614. 

For thar is wrocht euire ilke day 
Sa gret wondir, that 1 ne tell may ; 
Of Sand Morise throw the prayere 
To folk bund trie with seknes sere ; 



That Idar nocht Record all now ; 
For some perchaunce suld me mistrew. 
For deiff men thar gettis heryng, 
And blynd men als parfyt seyng, 
And halt men als thar gettis bute, 
That seknes has in schank or fut, 
And dume men als thar gettis speke, 
That mekly will Sand Morise sek, 
And fall feile men of parlesy 
Gettis thar heile thar parfytly. 
And sume throu ydropesy sa gret 
Swolne that thai ma ete no mete, 
Are mad swampe thar, ihrou the prayer 
Of Sand Morise, haile and fere. 
And stime that brawne-wod of ther wit 
War mad and wterly tynt it, 
And helpe has socht at Sand Morise 
Jtecoucrit wit and war mad wise. 
And sume that payne had of the stane 
Or seknes into flesch or bane 
Or quhatkine vthir infirmyte, 
That man or woman had, gyf he 



22 INTRODUCTION. 

Socht Sand Niniane deuotely, Or shco Sand Morise socht increly, 

Gat heile, tho it ware myslary, At hyme thar heile thai gat in hy, 

Thru the Giffar of al grace, Throw mycht of Giffar of all grace, 
To quhame Sand Niniane seruand vas. To quhome he ay trew seruand was. 

And grant God that we ma be And swa gif God that / ma be 

His seruandis in lyk degre, His seruand into sic degre, 

Of this lyf [that] we ma twyne Out of this Iyf that / may twyne 

But det, schame, and dedly syne. But schame, or deit, or dedly syne. 

This similarity is too close to be accidental. It is possible, 
of course, to explain it by saying that one author copied from 
the other ; but a more likely explanation is that the two 
legends had the same author ; and if this be the true expla- 
nation, the date of the two legends may probably be placed in 
the fourth quarter of the fourteenth century. 

The question, Which of the two legends was written first ? is 
not easy to answer ; but it seems to me that the lines from 
the Machor legend bear evidence of an attempt to improve 
upon those from the legend of S. Ninian. All through and 
here particularly the lines run more smoothly, and the 
thought is more carefully expressed ; and S. Ninian being 
the greater and more popular Saint, it is not unlikely that 
the author took in hand his legend first, and that when writ- 
ing the Machor legend, he remembered the lines he had written 
in his legend of the Galloway Saint, and incorporated them 
with improvements in his account of the disciple of Columba. 

S. NINIAN. 

The materials for a Life of S. Ninian are not great. First, 
there is the brief notice of him by the Venerable Bede in his 
Ecclesiastical History, Book Hi., c. 4 : next, there are the few 
references to him in the Irish and Scottish Martyrologies : 
then we have an Irish Life : and lastly the Life written by S. 
Ailred which is in the legend for the most part followed. 



INTRODUCTION. 23 

Ailred was the son of a priest of Hexham, where he was 
born A.D., 1 109. He was educated in Scotland along with 
Prince Henry, son of David I. In 1133* he entered the 
Cistercian house of Rievaux ; fourteen years later he took 
charge of the house belonging to the same order at Revesby 
in Lincolnshire, and in 1 146 was elected Abbot of Rievaux. 
According to Reginald of Durham he visited Galloway in 
n64,f ar >d according to his own account, wrote the Life of S. 
Ninian at the request of Christianus, who was then the bishop 
of Candida Casa, but, was afterwards, in 1177, suspended from 
the Episcopal Office by the Pope's Legate Vivian for refusing 
to attend the Council he had summoned to meet in Edinburgh. 

Ailred was a voluminous, if an uncritical, author. For the 
materials for his Life of Ninian, which was written seven hun- 
dred years after the Saint's death, he appears to have gone to 
the Venerable Bede and to a hook of the Life and Miracles of 
the Saint then in existence, but written as he says in a bar- 
barous style. The superscription to the MS. in the British 
Museum $ bears that the Life was translated out of English 
into Latin ; but to what extent, if to any, Ailred was merely a 
translator is not known. His Life is no better and no worse 
than the majority of the Lives of the Saints. It is much less 
sober than Turgot's admirable Life of S. Margaret and much 
more rhetorical. It abounds in miracles and adds little infor- 
mation to that which is given by Bede. 



* Not, as stated by Mr. Baring-Gould, Lives of the Saints, Sept. 16, p. 262, in 
A.D. 1 166. That was the year of Ailred's death. 

+ At Kirkcudbright he saw a number of clerics, "qui Pictorum Scollofthes 
connominantur," baiting a bull in the Churchyard, on the feast of S. Cuthbert, to 
whom the bull had been offered in oblation. Reg. Dunelm. Surtees Ed., pp. 
178-9. 

+ Not the Bodleian MS. as Mr. Baring-Gould says. Lives of the Saints, Sept., 
p. 263. 



24 INTRODUCTION. 

S. Ninian, according to Ailred, was born on the shores of 
the Solway Firth of Christian and royal parents. Baptized in 
infancy, he retained as he grew up the innocence of his child- 
hood, and studied under native teachers, whom he soon out- 
stripped. According to the Irish Life, he was tall and well made 
and his father wanted to make him a man of war, but his 
heart was set upon going to Rome, in order to be more fully in- 
structed in the Christian Faith. Accordingly, he left Scotland, 
crossed the British seas, passed through France, and entering 
Italy by the Cottian Alps, reached, after a prosperous journey, 
the capital of Christendom. Here he soon became known to the 
Pope, probably Damasus, who having enquired of him whence 
and for what purpose he had come, assigned to him various 
teachers, by whom he was instructed in the Faith and in 
ecclesiastical affairs. How long he remained in Rome is un- 
known, but on the completion of his education he was again 
summoned before the Pope, probably Siricius, who ordained 
him bishop, and presenting him with certain relics, sent him to 
preach the Gospel in his native land. 

On his way home Ninian visited S. Martin of Tours * from 
whom he begged two masons, in order that, on his arrival at 
the sphere of labour which had been assigned to him, he might 



* He was born at Sabaria, in that part of Pannonia now identified with Lower 
Hungary, about the year 316. His parents were pagans. When ten years of age 
he enrolled himself among the Catechumens, against the, wishes of his parents, and 
when fifteen he entered the army in consequence of an imperial edict. In 336 he 
visited Hiliary of Poictiers, who would have made him a deacon, but he declined 
the office. From Gaul he returned to Pannonia, and converted his mother and 
many others to the Christian faith. About the year 360 he once more visited 
Hiliary, who gave him a piece of land at Luguge, upon which he built what is 
generally regarded as the earliest monastic institution in Gaul. Eleven years later 
he was chosen bishop of Tours, which office he held till his death, probably on 
November n, 397, which day is usually observed in Scotland as Martinmas. 



INTRODUCTION. 25 

build churches there after the Roman manner, i.e., of stone and 
lime, instead of after the Irish or Scotic manner, of wood. 

The news of his return preceded him, and on his arrival in 
his own country he was met by a large concourse of people 
who received him with many signs of joy. 

His first care was to preach the Gospel to the people at 
Whithorn, and then to build a stone church there, said to have 
been the first of the kind built in Scotland. During its 
erection Ninian received the news of the death of S. Martin 
of Tours, and when the Church was finished he dedicated 
it to his memory. 

The death of S. Martin occurred in or about the year 397 
A.D., and furnishes the nearest approach to an exact date in 
connection with S. Ninian. 

As soon as the church at Whithorn, Candida Casa, was 
finished, Ninian devoted himself afresh to the evangelisation 
of the country, and is said by Bede to have preached so 
effectually among the Picts dwelling to the south of the 
Grampians, that they " Abandoned idolatry and embraced 
the faith in the truth." 

The year of Ninian's death is unknown. In the legend the 
date of it is given as September 16, 332,* which is probably a 
mistake for September 16, 432, the date which is generally 
received. 

According to the Irish life of the Saint, quoted by Ussher, 
S. Ninian, towards the close of his career, removed, at the 
urgent request of his mother, to Ireland, and, at a place called 
Cluain-Conaire, given to him for the purpose by the king, built 
a great monastery; where he died and was buried.f Bede 
makes no mention of this, but says that he was buried in the 

*L1. 61 1 -614. fEccles. Antiqq., p. 506. 

B 



26 INTRODUCTION. 

Church of S. Martin or Candida Casa. Anyhow, he is com- 
memorated in the Martyrology of Tallaght as Monenn of 
Cluain Conaire, and in the Martyrologies of Donegal and 
Aengus the Culdee, who describes him as " Monend, the shout 
of every mouth." 

The dedications to S. Ninian in Scotland are very numerous, 
and are to be met with in almost all parts of the country. 
Bishop Forbes enumerates no fewer than sixty-nine, and his 
list is not complete. * Of those he enumerates, eight are in 
Forfarshire, six in Ayrshire, five in Aberdeenshire, five in 
Lanark, four in each of the counties of Edinburgh, Stirling, and 
Perth, three in Ross-shire, and one in Shetland, etc. 

In the Parish of Glasserton, at Phisgill, is a cave under a cliff 
by the sea side, called S. Ninian's cave, to which, according to 
tradition, the Saint used to withdraw for penitential and 
devotional retirement. His name is also associated with the 
picturesque legend of S. Medana, whose cave-chapel is near 
the Mull of Galloway, in the parish of Kirkmaiden. The 
Clog Rinny or Bell of S. Ninian, with which he is supposed to 
have summoned the people to his preaching, was in existence 
a few years ago, and probably still exists, t 

The Saint's name occurs under various forms. Bede has 
Nynia ; William of Malmesbury, Ninia ; Alcuin, Nynia, and 
Nyniga. After Ailred's time it becomes Ninianus. In Scotch 
it is S. Ringan or S. Ringen. In the north of England it is 
S. Trinyon, S. Trimam, and S. Trimom. Regnault Girard, an 
envoy of Charles VII. of France, who visited Whithorn in 
1435, writes the name Sanct Treigney. f 



* St. Ninian and St. Kentigern (Historians of Scotland), pp. xiii.-xvii. See also 
Kalendar of Scottish Saints, sub Ninian. 
t Wilson's Prehistoric Annals, ii. 460-475. X Revue Celtique, xix., 58. 



INTRODUCTION. 27 

The exact site upon which S. Ninian built the church which 
he dedicated to S. Martin has given rise to much discussion. 
Some hold that the church stood upon the site now occu- 
pied by the ruins of the Chapel on "the Isle," a rocky 
promontory, formerly an island, but now connected with the 
mainland at low tide, and situated near the south-end of the 
main part of Wigtonshire, about two miles north from Burrow 
Head, and three miles south-east of Whithorn ; while others 
are of opinion that the place chosen by S. Ninian is now 
covered by the remains of the Priory at Whithorn. 

In their recent work on the Ecclesiastical Architecture of 
Scotland* Messrs. Ross and M'Gibbon say : " There is nothing 
at either place to determine with any degree of certitude the 
site of the first Christian edifice in Scotland." The generally 
received opinion, however, is that the site is at Whithorn, and 
in an able article, reprinted from Scots' Lore, Mr. Chalmers 
suggests that he has found parts of the actual foundations of 
S. Ninian's Candida Casa at the west end of the Cathedral, t 

For nearly a hundred years after the death of S. Ninian, 
Candida Casa drops out of sight. When it next appears, it 
has become a great school, known as Rosnat, or the Magnum 
Monasterium, or as Futerna, f where many from the neigh- 
bouring coast of Ulster are trained in religion. Among 
the great names connected with it are S. Tigernach, Monennus, 
Eugenius, Mancennus, and S. Finnian of Maghbile. When 
the ancient kingdom of the Britons was broken up, and the 
Angles pushed their conquests into Galloway, the school dis- 
appeared, and gave place to an Anglian bishopric. Soon after 



* Vol. ii., 299. 

tSi. Ninian's Candida Casa, by F. Macgregor Chalmers. April, 1595. 
% The Irish pronunciation for Whithorn. 



28 INTRODUCTION. 

A.D. 803, this also disappeared, the last bishop being Badulf or 
Badwulf, and the first Pecthelm.* 

Between the years A.D. 875-883, Eardulf, bishop of Lindis- 
farne, when wandering about with S. Cuthbert's relics, found 
refuge in Candida Casa. He had embarked at the mouth of 
the Derwent with the intention of going over to Ireland, but 
was prevented from going there by a storm, during which he 
lost overboard S. Cuthbert's gilt and gemmed MS. of the 
Gospels. When he arrived at Whithorn, the MS., it is said, 
was found upon the shore uninjured. 

The next reference to Candida Casa is the legendary state- 
ment that Kenneth II. of Scotland made a pilgrimage thither. 
He began to reign A.D. 970, and, according to the Pictish 
Chronicle, conquered the district, f 

In the beginning of the twelfth century (11 15) we get a 
glimpse of Candida Casa, which shows probably that its fame 
was spread as far north as Iceland, and that the name of S. 
Ninian was held in reverence there. Flosi and his accomplices 
in the NjaPs burning sailed south after they were banished, 
and Kari Solmund's son, who alone escaped from the burning, 
followed hard after him down the west coast of Scotland, and, 
hearing that he had gone to Wales, went thither and lay in 
wait for him. Meeting with Kol Thorstein's son, he slew him 
as he was weighing out silver, and " Then," says the sagaman, 
" he and his companions sailed north to Beruwick, and laid up 
their ship, and fared up into Whithorn in Scotland, and were 
with Earl Malcolm that year. % 

By this time the Viking raids and the conflicts among the 
Picts and Scots, Britons and Angles, from which Scotland, as 



* Hadden and Stubbs, Council and Ecclesiastical Documents, ii. Pt. I„ p. 7. 
t Skene, p. 10. J Sir Geo. Dasent, Story of the Burnt Njal, ii. 345. 



INTRODUCTION. 29 

well as Northumbria, had suffered so long, were over ; before 
the first quarter of the century was passed, David I. was on the 
throne, and things in Scotland were beginning to assume 
something like settled order. Whether any bishop had followed 
Badulf in the see of Candida Casa is not known * but in the 
year 1125 or the year following, the see was revived. Gallo- 
way had always been regarded as part of Northumbria, 
consequently as a part of the ecclesiastical province of York ; 
and hence Gilla- Aldan, the first of the new line of bishops, and 
evidently a native, was sent by Honorius II. to Thurstein, 
Archbishop of York, for consecration, and was consecrated by 
him in one or other of the years just mentioned, t 

About the same time Fergus, Lord of Galloway, laid the 
foundation of the Priory of Whithorn. Fergus, though of 
unknown descent, may have had some connection with the 
Lords of Bamborough or of Galloway, who in the tenth century 
and later held rule in Bernicia,^ of which Galloway was 
reckoned a part. But whether or not, he had already founded 
the monastery of Soulseat, and colonised it with Premonstra- 
tensian Canons. From this came Holywood, Tungland, and 
Whithorn. § 

As the seat of the bishopric || and the repository of the sacred 
relics of S. Ninian, the church at Whithorn soon became the 



* There may, however, have been British bishops in the district at this period. 
Hadden and Stubbs, ii. Pt. I, 13. Boece asserts that the see was revived by Malcolm 
III. in 1070. 

+ The Archbishop of York claimed ecclesiastical jurisdiction over Scotland 
till 1471, when a long and bitter conflict was settled by the bishopric of St. And- 
rews being raised to the dignity of an Archiespiscopal and Metropolitan See. 

+ Skene, Celtic Scotland, i. 373. 

§ Besides these, Fergus founded the Augustinian Priory of St. Mary's Isle, near 
Kirkcudbright. ' He becaihe a monk of Holyrood in 1180. 

II For the annals of the bishopric see Hadden and Stubbs, ii., Pt. I, 56, tt scq. 



30 INTRODUCTION. 

chief church in Galloway, and the resort of an ever increasing 
crowd of pilgrims. Several Scottish sovereigns visited it : 
Robert the Bruce in 1329, not long before his death ; James 
III. visited it annually, and sometimes twice a year ; James V. 
took his way thither in the years 1532-33, and Queen Margaret 
with six ladies of her Court, was there in 1473. In 1506 the 
Regent Albany granted a safe-conduct to all persons in Eng- 
land, Ireland, and the Isle of Man to come by land or water 
into Scotland, to the Church of Candida Casa, in honour of 
S. Ninian Confessor. From the legend we learn that those 
who sought the shrine of the Saint came not only from the 
places just named, but also from France and Spain and 
Prussia, and that at any time during the festival more than ten 
thousand persons might have been counted at it. There can be 
little doubt that secular thoughts and secular amusements were 
not lacking either during the festival or among the companies 
of pilgrims as they journeyed towards it. " Indeed, we have no 
reason to doubt," says Bishop Forbes, " that the graphic scenes 
of Chaucer's Canterbury pilgrimage were reproduced on the 
way to Whithorn, for the private accounts of King James re- 
cord donations to various minstrels and others who by jest 
and song lightened the journey." * 

At the Reformation the glory of Candida Casa passed away. 
By an Act of Parliament passed in 1581 pilgrimages were 
forbidden and made punishable. Six years later the property 
of the Priory was annexed to the Crown ; in 1606 it was 
granted by James VI. to the Bishop of Galloway. In 1641 
it was transferred to the University of Glasgow; and finally, in 
1689, it reverted to the Crown. The place, once so eagerly 
repaired to by the pious of many generations, is now in ruins. 



Lives ofSS. Ninian and Kcntigern, p. 58. 



INTRODUCTION. 31 

At the expense of the Marquess of Bute much patient labour 
has been expended in connection with what still remains of it, 
but whether it will ever be restored to anything like its ancient 
beauty — who can tell ? 

S. MACHOR. 

The source used by the author when writing the legend of 
S. Machor, as already remarked, was evidently an ancient 
Irish or Latin life, though probably the latter, which was 
known to O'Donnell, the author of the Fifth Life of S. 
Columba in Colgan's Trias Thaumaturga, and to the author 
of the Office for the Saint in the Aberdeen Breviary.* 
The legend contains much more in connection with the life 
of S. Machor than either O'Donnell's pages or the Breviary, 
but between them the two contain quite sufficient to show 
that their authors made use of the same source as the author 
of the legend. The Latin or original source is lost, and in its 
absence the legend, which was written at least a hundred years 
before either the Breviary was printed or O'Donnell's Life of 
S. Columba was written, is now the principal source. 

According to this S. Machor was born in Ireland, and was 
the son of Syaconus or Fiachna, an Irish kinglet, and his wife 
Synchena or Finchoemia, both of whom were Christians. At 
baptism, a rite which, according to the Aberdeen Breviary, 
was performed for him by S. Colman, he received the name 
of Mocumma or Mocumba. S. Colman was also his first in- 
structor. 

After the custom of the country while he was yet a child, he 
was taken to one named Telman to foster. Under him he 



* It was known also to the authors of the offices for SS. Ternan and Devenick 
in the same work. 



32 INTRODUCTION. 

throve wonderfully, and so grew in the grace of God that angels, 
it is said, used to visit him, hovering about the house in which 
he was, and over his cradle, and filling the place with their 
brightness and melodies. Other signs of his coming sanctity and 
greatness were also vouchsafed. His younger brother having 
died, his dead body was placed in bed beside him, when warmed 
by contact with Machor's body he was speedily restored to 
life. Once, while a child, Machor was miraculously saved from 
death by fire, and on another occasion from death by drowning. 

The fame of S. Columba having reached his parents, and the 
period of his fosterage being ended, Machor was sent to Columba 
to be educated, and soon became his devoted and beloved dis- 
ciple. Columba preferred him above all the rest of his disciples, 
made him the sharer of his private thoughts, and spoke of him 
in the highest terms. The consequence was, his fellow-dis- 
ciples began to look upon him with dislike ; but as their dislike 
increased, the fame of his sanctity spread, and men soon came 
to him from all parts of Ireland seeking his guidance, and 
hringing with them gifts of food and clothing. Their offerings 
he refused to touch, and desiring to be unknown, resolved to 
withdraw into some desert place where no man had knowledge 
of him. 

S. Columba when informed of this intention on the part of 
Machor, told him that he also had a similar intention, but 
urged him to go first and obtain the permission of his parents. 
Machor protested that he had no father or mother save the 
Church, and that wherever Columba went, there also he would 
go. Overjoyed with this proof of his young disciple's devotion 
Columba changed his name from Mocumma to Machor, and 
setting sail with all who would accompany them, they came to 
the island of Iona. Here they were received by one Melluma, 
to whom Columba was well known. When, however, Columba 



INTRODUCTION. 33 

came to count the number of his disciples who had landed, 
Machor was missing. Melluma at once went to the boat, 
where he found Machor engaged in prayer, and carried him 
ashore. 

After the huts had been built and the young community 
had been thoroughly established in their new home, Columba 
sent Machor to evangelise the island of Mull. On landing 
there, he was met by seven lepers whom he healed, and having 
preached the gospel over the whole of the island, he returned 
to Iona. 

There he devoted himself to the study and copying of the 
Scriptures, " a thing wherein he had great delight." One 
night the light failed him, but having " firm hope in God," he 
blew upon his finger ends and at once a light leaped forth 
from them and continued to burn till his work was done. 

The miracle was witnessed by a little child who told it to 
others, when the ill-will of his companions again broke out 
against him. So bitter were their feelings towards him that 
they sent him a drink mingled with poison. Machor divined 
their plot, and having made the sign of the cross over the cup, 
inclined it a little, when all the poison ran out. He then drank 
what remained, without feeling the slightest harm. This fresh 
proof of his miraculous gifts, however, only served to inflame 
his enemies still more ; and Columba, hearing how matters 
stood, and having no hope of effecting a reconciliation, coun- 
selled Machor, though not without sorrow, to leave the island 
and seek another field of labour. 

Machor at once accepted the advice. Columba gave him a 
boat and seven companions, a bishop's staff, a belt, books, 
clothing and food for the voyage. The whole community 
assembled to witness his departure, and when on his way to 
the shore those who had hitherto been his enemies came for- 



34 INTRODUCTION. 

ward, and confessing their sins, a mutual reconciliation took 
place. 

Machor and his companions sailed to the north of Scotland 
and arrived at a place owned by one Farquhar, a man of great 
wealth and power and a Christian, who having learned who 
they were and whence they came, gave them permission to 
take up their abode on any part of his lands they chose. 
They therefore set out in search of a suitable place, and having 
found one beside a river that ran into the sea and in the shape 
of a bishop staff, and answering in these and other respects to 
the description of the place in which Columba had told them 
they were to make their dwelling, they selected it and set to 
work at once with the aid of " crafty men " to build a " costly 
kirk " upon it. While the work was in progress, the supply 
of water failed, when Machor, at the request of the workmen 
and by means of his prayers, caused an abundance of it to be 
obtained from springs which, as the legend says, " still supply 
all the town.'' 

Not far from the place where they had settled dwelt S. 
Devenick. The same came to Machor one day, when the two 
agreed to divide their labours. Machor was to remain where 
he was and preach to the Picts, and Devenick was to go to 
Caithness, which then included Sutherland, and preach the 
Gospel there. Before separating, the latter, who felt that he 
had not long to live, obtained the promise from Machor that 
on his death Machor would see his body removed to the 
place in which they then were and cause it to be buried in 
the place which had hitherto been his abode — a promise 
which, as we shall see, was faithfully kept 

S. Machor now threw himself with zeal into the work of 
preaching the Gospel. His success was great. Temples 
were overthrown, idols destroyed and almost the whole of 



INTRODUCTION. 35 

he Picts converted. The miracles he is said to have per- 
ormed were numerous. A bear which was destroying the 
larvest he changed into stone; he overcame a heathen 
orcerer named Dinon or Dron and then converted and 
>aptised him; he gave sight to a man that was born blind 
md restored a kinsman of S. Columba to life ; two young 
irishmen who had been attracted to him by his fame, hav- 
ng mocked him, came by a violent end ; having ploughed a 
ield that was lean and dry, and seed with which to sow it being 
vanting, he sent to S. Ternan to borrow some, who sent him 
nstead a sack of sand, but this being scattered upon the land, 
sprang up into corn ; a bone which had stuck in the throat of 
1 man who had despised him, he safely extracted, and received 
n return a large piece of land upon which to build a church. 

He was visited by S. Ternan who brought with him a great 
:ompany of clerics. Machor led them to the church and 
^reached to them a " short sermon on patience and charity," 
ind afterwards entertained them with food and spiritual 
ntercourse. While they were thus engaged a great company 
)f devout men came to them with sundry questions on which 
;hey desired the Saint's advice. He discoursed to them, re- 
buking them for troubling themselves with such questions as 
:hose they had propounded, for the reason that "they were be- 
yond the wit of man." 

Not long after this, S. Devenick died, and his body was 
:onveyed to a church not far from where S. Machor was 
iwelling. The news was brought to him, and during the fol- 
owing night he had a vision of angels ascending and descend- 
ng upon the place where the body of the dead Saint lay. 
Next day he had it reverently buried at Banchory- Devenick. 

When S. Columba resolved to go to Rome he sent for S. 
Machor, and the two proceeded to the capital of Christendom 



36 INTRODUCTION. 

together. There they were well received by Pope Gregory 
the Great, who gave to Machor episcopal ordination, and 
changed his name from Machor to Mauritius or " Moris." 
When the two Saints reached Tours on their return journey, 
they were received by the bishop and clergy of that city with 
great joy. S. Columba was requested to remain, and on his 
refusing Machor was desired, and the two having conferred 
S. Machor agreed to remain and preach the Gospel. Before 
leaving, S. Columba passed a night in the Church of S. Martin. 
The dead Saint appeared to him, showed him where his body 
was buried, and freely gave to him " the book of the Evangel " 
that had lain in the grave for some time beside it, and had 
been eagerly sought for by the bishop and clergy. 

As soon as Columba had left Tours for Iona S. Martin ap- 
peared to the Bishop of Tours and commended to him S. 
Machor. He was accordingly elected bishop, and for three years 
and a half laboured among the people with great acceptance. At 
the end of that time he was taken with a fever, and knowing 
his end was near, summoned the clergy to his death-bed. 
There a wonderful sight was vouchsafed to them. To the bed 
of the dying Saint came S. Martin from heaven and S. Columba 
from Iona ; Jesus and the twelve Apostles were also present, 
and a great multitude of angels. Surrounded by this glorious 
company S. Machor yielded up his spirit, which was carried to 
heaven by the angels with songs of joy. 

A church was built over the Saint's tomb, where in the time 
of the author of the legend many miracles were said to be 
wrought daily. 

The incidents common to the legend, O'Donnell's account 
and the office in the Aberdeen Breviary, or to any two of them, 
do not always agree. Especially is this the case in respect to S. 
Martin's copy of the Gospels, as will be seen on a comparison of 



INTRODUCTION. 37 

the narrative of the legend with that of O'Donnell. The author 
of former has evidently desired to justify the retention of the 
volume by S. Columba, and says nothing of the unwillingness 
of the people of Tours to part with it. The incident of the 
sack of sand is mentioned in the office for S. Ternan in the 
Aberdeen Breviary, and in that for S. Devenick the division of 
the fields of labour is referred to. So algo is S. Machor's pro- 
mise in respect to the burial of S. Devenick, and his vision on 
the night preceding the burial. 

The dedications of S. Machor are not numerous. In the 
legend he is called the Patron Saint of Aberdeen, and in that 
city there is a cathedral dedicated to him. There are also two 
parishes in Aberdeenshire named after him, and at Kildrumie 
there is a place called Meker's Haugh. 

His day is November 12. 



S. NINIAN. 



SUMMARY OF THE LEGEND. 



Birth, baptism, education, and conduct of Ninian, 1-94 ; he goes to 
Rome, where he is received by the Pope and placed by him under 
instructors, 95-128 ; prospering in his studies, the Pope appoints him 
bishop, and, dismissing him with his benediction, sends him to his 
native land to preach the Gospel, 129-164; he visits S. Martin of 
Tours, from whom he obtains two masons, and then proceeds home, 
165-196 ; arrived at home, he is met by a great concourse of people, 
and begins his work, in which his success is great, 197-257 ; he builds 
a church of stone and lime, the first so built in Britain, and dedicates 
it to S. Martin, 258-270; he heals a prince, who has opposed his 
work, of a sickness, 271-304 ; he vindicates the innocence of a priest 
wrongly accused, 305-424; he protects his cattle, and raises to life the 
leader of a band of thieves who attempted to steal them, 425-478 ; a 
scholar who has done wrong and is fleeing, is saved from drowning 
through the virtue of S. Ninian's staff, which he has stolen and carried 
away with him, 479-550; the Saint is reproved by his companion for 
harbouring a light thought, 551-592; his godly life and death, 593- 
614 ; his burial at Candida Casa, and the miracles wrought at his 
tomb, 615-634; the miracle wrought upon a boy who was greatly 
deformed, 635-718 ; the honour done to his relics on the Tuesday in 
Whitsun week, and the cures wrought at his tomb, 719-814 ; a miracle 
that befell Sir Fergus Macdowal during a raid into England, 815-942 ; 
how a condemned criminal in England who had promised to keep 
S. Ninian's fast was thrice restored after he had been hanged on the 
gallows, and finally obtained the pardon of his crime, 943-1086 ; how 
a Scotsman about to be slain by an Englishman, persuaded his enemy, 
who was unable to use his limbs, to keep S. Ninian's fast and to visit 
Whithorn, and how S. Ninian appeared to the Englishman and healed 
him, 1087-1358 ; the cure of John Balormy of Elgin, 1359-1447. 



40 



S. N I N IAN. 



This Sanct Niniane, I of say, 

That quyk and ded blissit wes ay, 

Into Mekil Bretane wes borne, 

And his gud elderis hyme beforne, 

That mychty war, and of gret kyne, 5 

And mykil had of warldis wyne. 

And fra this cheld borne wes, 

That ay wes ful of Godis grace, 

He wes howine in fontstane, 

And callit wes Niniane. 10 

The cud-clath, that he thare laucht, 

He kepit clene at his macht, 

And before Goddis Sone present it 

Of al dedly syne but smyt. 

And the gyfte of the Haly Gaste, 1 5 

That he tuk thare, wes nocht in waste ; 

For he hyme kepyt sa fra syne, 

That it wonnyt hyme ay withine. 

And as he growand wes in eld 
Rypare, and hyrneselfe mycht weld, 20 

Sa grew he into vertu ay, 
Forberand wantones and play, 
And sobre wes in drynk and met, 
Tho he it welfully mycht get ; 
And wele entendand til his lare 25 

He wes al tyme, late and are. 



MS. 1. The initial letter is wanting. 19. he growine. 

41 C 



42 S. NINIAN. 

For he beguth firste to lere, 
Ore he of eld had fyfe yere, 
Hou he suld hymeselfe led, 

And hou God he suld dred, 30 

And fadire and modire, hou that he 
Suld honoure in al degre. 
Syne he leyrit to red and syng 
And of vthire vndirstanding ; 
Fol. 332 6. For the maister he had thane, 35 

Wes wer and wise and vertuise mane. 
And he, that able wes and yyng, 
Folouyt his mastere in al thing, 
And consauit richt sutely 

Quhateuir he taucht in til hy, 40 

And in his hart wele held it, 
Sa retentywe he was of wit, 
Hafand hyme in sic degre, 
That his ourmen be sutelte, 

And les thane hyme be gret meknes, 45 

He ourecome ; and neuiretheles 
He kepyt ay his innocens 
Of al mane but offence. 

And growand sa ay he was 
In vertuse lyfe and in gudnes. SO 

And fore he had dout to fal, 
Til abstinence he gef hym al, 
And held his fles vndirloute, 
For dred it suld be thra and stout 
Agane the sawle and gere hym syne, 5 ;, 

Or let hyme hewinly med to wyn. 
Al foule delyt he fled, forthi, 
And hyme abandonit ythanly 
In prayere, fastyng, and in wake, 
Hymeselfe seruand to God to mak. 60 

34. vthire vnst vndirstanding. 42. sic . . . he had of wit. 

58. abondonit. 



S. NINIAN. 43 

With wemene wald he nocht conuerse, 
Na of na man il reherse, 
Bot set hyme halely to lere 
His dedis thankfully to stere. 

And gud and able God hyme mad 65 

Al gud to lere but abad, 
Sa that he cuth in lytil space 
Science inuch thru Godis grace. 
And science als of Haly Kirke 
He lerit al, ore he wald irke. 70 

And hereof suld nane ferly, 
Gyfe he consider it suthfastly, 
That, quhare the Haly Gaste wil be 
Maistere, but difficulte 

He ma gere man consawe al thing 75 

But besynes ore trawaling ; 
Lyk as of Salamone we red, 
That wes the viseste man but dred, 
And in the space bot of a nycht 
Of al his wysdome gat the slycht, 80 

Be teching of the Haly Gast, 
' Fol. 334 a. That is beste maister, in til haste ; 
For to God, we ma se, 
Ma na thing inpossible be. 

And, tho he yung wes, hyme thocht 85 

That medful wes quhasa mocht, 
And cuth als, saw Goddis sede 
In hartis that thareof had nede. 
And to wyne Godis come, 

Quharof mykil wes nere lorne, 90 

For faute of wynnare, that cuth preche 
The puple treuly and thame teche, 
He vmthocht hym he wald luke, 
Gyf he in sic corne cuth set huke. 

69. science hals. 70. he lerit als. 72. considerit. 81. theching. 

90. tharof. 93. vmthocht he. * So MS. 



44 S. NINIAN. 

He thocht he wald pas forthyrmare 95 

And be parfite into sic lare. 
Fore scorn e it ware gret to se 
The techure suld vnkennand be. 

Tharefor his kyne and his cunctre 
He levit, and passit oure the se, ioo 

And dressit hyme Rome to seke, 
Gyf he mycht thare his science eke, 
And, for to sek Sanctis sere 
That plentusly in that place were, 
For til eke his deuocione, 105 

And get the Papis benysone. 
Thane has he hyme redy mad. 
He tuk leif — and furth he glad — 
At his frendis and knawine men, 
That ware til hyme tendir thene, 1 10 

And, helpand God, syne come he 
But letting sone oure the se, 
And come to Rome in lytil space, 
Hale and sownd be Godis grace, 
And the Papis presence wane, 115 

That wyse wes and haly mane, 
That hyme resawit with gud chere, 
And teyndirly at hyme cane spere 
The cause quhy yddir come he, 
And quhyne he wes, and of quhat cunctre. 120 
And til al askine he mad 
Ansuere wisly but abade. 
The Pape thane, his deuocione 
Seand, gef hyme his bensone, 
And wele approwand his gud wil, 125 

Syndry maisteris betacht hym til, 
To mak hyme parfyte in that lare 
That causit hyme to cume thare. 



97. forne scorne. 98. the thechure. in. sone come he. 

121. and til al askine sone he mad. 124. bunsone. 



S. N INI AN. 45 

Fol. 334 *. Thane trawalit he besyli, 

Til he in knavlege of clergy, 1 30 

That nedful wes, wes wise inuch 

In Goddis yard to set plucht, 

To schau His sede and wine His come 

And helpe weile it ware nocht lorne. 

And quhene thai twa yere ore thre, 135 

He sped wele in sic degre, 

And wes weile tacht gannandly. 

And haile but smyt of his body, 

Wyse in thocht, in consel hale, 

Forseand in that suld awale, 140 

Discret in wark and word withal — 

Al that kneu hym cuth hym cal. 

Sa wane he richt gret renone 

Til he wes duellande in that ton. 

Forthi the Pape, thareof herd say 145 

Hou he grew in uertuse ay, 
Callit hyme and sad : " Sone dere, 
" For thi gret uertu that I here, 
" And the faire and the gret renone 
" Thou has of al men of this ton, 1 50 

" I wyl thu mad bischope be 
" And hird, to kepe Goddis fe ; 
" For, sene I wat thu ma awale, 
" I wil thu tak the that trawele, 
" Sa that the science lent to the 155 

" Be nocht tynt na smoryt in the." 
And sayand this, he can hym ma 
Bischope with his handis twa, 
And al the doctrine can hyme lere 
That til a bischope suld affere, 160 

And with relykis cane hym releife ; 
Syne blissit hyme, and gef hym lefe. 

131. that nedful wes wise, 133. his seiyde. 



46 S. NINIAN. 

And he thane went hamwarte, 
For to trawale in Goddis yarde. 

In the meynetyme gret word ran 165 

Of Sancte Martyne, the haly man, 
That as a starne clerly schane 
In gud dedis mony ane. 
Sancte Niniane, tharfor, thocht that he, 
In his gat hamewart, wald hym se, 170 

And knaw his conuersacione, 
For to get his benysone. 
And as he thocht sa he dide. 
Bot that wes nocht fra Martyne hid ; 
For he wiste throw the Hali Gast, 175 

That Sancte Niniane suld cum in hast, 
And had yarnyng hyme to se 
Fol. 33s a. And aquynte al with hyme be ; 
For he wyst weil he wes thane 
A bischope and a haly mane, 180 

And wiste weile mony he suld wyne 
Fra errure and fra dedly syne. 
Tharfor, as thai semblit ware, 
Betwene thame wes rycht hamely faire. 
Twa dais ore thre he duelt thare, 185 

And hamewarte syne schupe hym to fare ; 
And for Sanct Niniane wald nocht byd, 
Thai lacht thare lewe on ilke syd. 
Bot Sancte Niniane, ore he can ga, 
Askit at Martyne masonis twa, 190 

That he hyme granttit but delay. 

Thane Niniane went on his way, 
And God sterand, in Bretan com thane, 
And his frendis fand wele farand, 
That of his come wes rycht fayne, 195 

And hou he had faryne cane frayne. 

173. and has, 



S. NINI AN. 



47 



Thane wes gret confluence 

Of folk, that come till his presens, 

And blissit hyme into the name 

Of God, that hyme send hame. 200 

And he thane, as gud teleman, 
To wirk in Goddis yard begane. 
And quhare he saw sawyne il seide, 
To destroy it he cane hyme spede, 
And, gyf it gadderit wes il, 205 

He skalit it, ore it suld spil. 
And besyly cane hyme haste 
That il begyt wes, to waste. 
Thane eftyre, quhen he had mad playne 
Godis feilde thus with payne, 210 

To preche thane he can hyme spede ; 
And eraste, quhare he schaw maste nede, 
And besyly set his cure 
To clenge thochtis of erroure, 
And put away sa mystrouth al, 215 

That he mycht trastly byg his wal 
Of rycht treutht, that suld stand faste, 
And thole na errour don it caste. 
And as he techit but drede, 

He did hymeself in worde and deide, 220 

And ay confermyt his prechyng 
Be wondire werkis the schawinge ; 
And sa, be clene lyf and gud worde, 
Mad feil wordy Goddis Burde, 
Fol. 33s b. And many fra the feynd cane fang, 225 

That in his seruice had duelt lang. 
Tharfor, Gudmen, behald and se 
Hou blissit and haly wes he, 
That of God had sa gret grace, 
That ay folouyt thus His trace ! 230 



203. and thare. 209. he mad playne. 222. the schawine. 

. 228. Hou and blissit. 



48 S. N INI AN. 

Forthi, ensampil ma be tane 
Of this haly man, Sanct Niniane, 
Suerdome and idilnes for to fle, 
And agane al wice wicht to be ; 
And prese we for to folou hyme, 235 

That feile this gert leif thare syne. 
And his clething scheu he was meke, 
And debonar wes in his speke, 
Deuote als in oracione, 

And ful ithand in lessone, 240 

In iugment leile and stable, 
And in thewis honorabil, 
Large in almus and dowyng, 
And stedfaste in his hafyng, 
In al office of preste able. 245 

He wes al tyme honorabil. 
Of sic compacience he wes eke 
That with thame gretand he wald gret, 
And with blyth blyth he wes, 
Gyf thare blythnes wes in gudnes ; 250 

And in vertuise he wes notable, 
And in al gudnes ful lowable. 

And quhene he had traualit lang, 
As I sad before, prechand 

In schenschype of the fend of hel, 255 

He chosit a place, tharein to duel, 
Be the sesyd in Galoway, 
That Quhithorne to nam had ay. 
And he gert mak in lytil tyme 
A kirk faire of stane and lyme ; 260 

And before it wes nane 
Kirk in the He of Bretane. 
And as the kyrk syne wes mad, 
He halouyt it but abad 

239. debonar in his speke. 245. of to preste. 253. nd quhene. 



S. NINIAN. 49 

Of Sancte Martyne in the lowyng — 265 

Tharin to bath red and syng 

Be the Haly Gaste — that than ded wes, 

And quyt the deit of alkine flesche, 

And clommyne wes to the hycht of hewyn, 

Thar with angelis to be ewine. 270 

In that cunctre duelt thare thane 
A king, that wes a fellone man 
Fol. 336 a. And contrare to Sanct Niniane preching, 
And for his lare wald do na thing, 
Bot erare contrare wes hyme to, 275 

For ocht that he cuth sa ore do. 
And mare cruel worde he sene 
Thane befortyme he had bene, 
That God in his hede sic seknes sende, 
That til de richt sone he wend. 280 

And with that he tynt the sicht 
Of the day, ware it neuir sa lycht. 
Thane tyd in his hart the thocht, he 
Thareof na way wariste mycht be, 
Bot it ware throu hym that he ay 285 

Schupe hyme of pryd to verray. 
Thane askit he hyme fore Godis sake, 
Tho he til hyme il cause can make, 
Til rew one hyme and pardone gyfe, 
Fore he disparit wes to life. 290 

Thane he, that mercyful wes ay, 
As he the messagis this herd say, 
Come one sone mekilly 
Quhare this catife king can ly, 
And hely sad : " God be herein, 295 

" That is distrowre of al syne." 
Thane went he to the sek but bad, 



270. that wit angelis. 271. n that cunctre. 273. and wes. 280. til do. 

283. in his hart thocht. 293. And come one. 

D 



So S. NINIAN. 

And on his hede and his ene mad 

The takine of the Croice werray ; 

And the seke thane but delay 300 

Gat gud heile of hede and ene 

As he neuire sek had bene ; 

And, fore he sa his hele wane, 

Lofand God, become gud mane. 

With a lord of the sammyn lande 305 

A maydine thare wes duellande, 
That wanttit nocht of bewte, 
That suld in ony woman be. 
And with the sammyne lord duelt a man, 
That kepare of his horse wes thane, 310 

And welth had and idilnes, 
That drew hyme into wantones. 
Forthi ofte wald he assay 
With that maydine for to play 
Sa lang, that he wan hire wil 315 

Al his yarnyng to fulfil. 
And fra thai had thare luste done, 
Scho wox gret, and alsone 
Seand scho mycht consele no mare, 
Foi. 336 b. Of hir syn thane had scho care. 320 

Thane franit hire lorde son, 
Quha sic thing had with hir done. 
And scho til hire lorde cane say, 
The parise preste by hire lay. 
Thane the lorde, that wes angry, 325 

To the Bischope this tald in hy. 
Bot the Bischope wist in haste, 
Be schewing of the Haly Gaste, 
That innocent the prest wes ; 
Yet wes he noyt, neuiretheles, 330 

301 . als gud heile of hede and ewene. 
305. ith a lord. 319. and seand. 320. and thane. 



S. NINIAN. 51 

That Haly Kirk suld sclaunderit be, 

Or prestede, in sic degre. 

Thane gert he prest and barne but delay 

Bryng til hyme the ewine way. 

As thai come til his presence, 335 

He gert the puple kepe scilence, 

And to the woman can he say : 

" This is the prest that by the lay 

" And gat this barne ? " Scho sad : " Ya," 

And the yung barne can ta 340 

And kest it to the prest rycht thare, 

Before al that gadderit ware. 

And the Bischope, that wiste hale 

The falset of the wifis tale, 

Sad to the barne : " I byd the now 345 

" In the name of Oure Lord Ihesu, 

" Goddis Son, that deit on tre, 

" Quha is thi faddir, thu tel me ! " 

And lo, gret ferly for to say, 

The barne, that borne wes that day, 350 

In manis voice ansuert thane, 

And the hand strekit to the man, 

Sayand : " Yonie my faddir is, 

" That with my modir did this mys, 

" And yone prest sakles is but wen, 355 

" And is of gud lif and clene." 

And as this wes tald thame til, 

As kind requirit, the barne held stil. 

And al that this ferly had sene 

Or herd, lowit God bedene, 360 

And thankit Hyme as thare Lorde, 

That thame had lent sa gud a hird. 

Tharfor, Sanct Niniane, I the pray 

Thu succure vs and helpe ws ay, 

That we bruk in hewyn the blise, 365 

Quhare we vat vele thu nov is. 



52 S. NINIAN. 

Foi. 337 a. The Bischope yet cuth nocht blyne, 

And mare come schupe God to wine, 
In Galouay vpe and done 

On fete gangand fra tone to tone, 370 

Partand the landis in paroch sere, 
And kirkis mad quhare nan were, 
And to serwe thame prestis mad, 
And statis al at to sic had 

Partenyt ; and eftir that, 375 

His sonnis that he in Criste gat, 
Confermyt into Godis fay ; 
Syne til his awne kirk held his way. 
Thar he had fundit a gret house 
Of gud men and of relegiouse, 380 

Godis seruice thare to say 
And sing, til it be doumysday. 

Sa a tyme can befal, 
That he ymang his brethire al 
Went to met in the frature, 385 

As he that of thaim had the cure, 
To tak sic commone fude 
As thai dide, il ore gude, 
And saw the burdis thru the hale 
That seruice wes nane of cale. 390 

Thane the monk that keping hade 
Of the yard, he callit but bade, 
And askit hyme quhy that thai 
Vare nocht seruit of caile that day. 
Thane sad he : " Faddir, but wene 395 

" In the yarde is nane erbe grene." 
And the Bischope that suth wiste, 
Bad hyme pas forth but ony frist, 
And quhat he in the yard fand, 
Bryng til hyme in his hand. 400 

367. he bischope. 368. that mare. 398. ony first. 



S. NINIAN. 53 

And furth he went at byddyng, 
Tho he wiste weile to find na thing, 
And in the yard sone has sene 
Caile and leikis faire and grene, 
And al that men of had neide, 405 

Thane cummyne of nev sawine seide. 
The monk that saw this ferly, 
Wes thane as in extasy, 
Seand Niniane sa ful of grace, 
That gert that grou in sa litil space. 410 

Lofand God, thareof tuke he, 
And brocht befor thame al to se. 
Fol. 337 b. And God thai lowit monyfald 

For this merwale, bath yung and aid. 

To God the Fadir be lowinge, 415 

That for His seruand wrocht sic thinge, 

To God the Sone ay honoure be, 

That menskyt hyme in sic degre, 

Til Haly Gaste als, God of Mycht ; 

And til Thame til-giddire richt, 420 

That Sanct Niniane mad sa mychtty 

To wirk here sa gret ferly, 

And for his trawal here withal 

To lestand joy son can hyme cal. 

Corne thane, I vndirstande, 425 

Wes nocht so plentuss in lande 
As it is now ; bot one bestiale 
The commonnis nere lifit hale ; 
For, quhare now the corne is beste, 
That tyme wes wilde foreste. 430 

Sa tyd that Niniane a tym wente 
To se his catel in entente, 
And to the lug se quhat thai 
Had, and how thai lay, 



409. sanct niniane. 410. that greu. 425. orne thane. 432. & to. 



54 S. NINIAN. 

And to gyf thame his blissinge, 435 

To safe thame fra al il thinge ; 
And yed aboute thame invirone, 
And gef thame Goddis benysone. 
And with the stafe, in hand he had, 
A circle about thaim he mad, 440 

And bad his hirdis that his fe 
That nycht in the circle suld be. 
Than to the catel thai tuk les kepe. 
Forthi, as al men war on slepe, 
Thefis, that cuth behald 445 

That the catele ware nocht in fald, 
In the circle thane but dout 
Yed, for to steile the catel owte. 
Bot a bule fers and fel, 

As kepare of the catel, 450 

One the maister thef ruschit 
As brane-woud, and til erde duschit, 
And in the wame racht hym sic a rout, 
Til al his guttis schot oute, 

And sone one hyme yed with fete. 455 

And that taknis lestis yete, 
Sene in a stane in that stede, 
Quhare the maister thefe wes dede. 
And al thai schrawis, euire-ilkane 
That ware in that circle gane, 460 

Fol. 338 a. Wex woud, and mocht nocht gange away, 
And bad thare til the morneday. 
Thare the Bischope fand thaim in that stede, 
And ymang thaim the maister thef dede 
Vndir thare fete, quhare thai stude, 465 

And al his feris brawne-woude. 
Thane come feil thareon to gowe, 
Of his ferly and gef god lowe. 
Bot the Byschape, that pyte had, 
Sa prayt for thaim but abade, 470 

That he that deit sa wrechitly, 



S. NINIAN. 55 

Wes resuscit in til hy, 

And to thame that woud ware gane, 

He purchasit wit ore he fane. 

Thane askit thai hym forgiffnes, 475 

And he ful mekly can thaim bles. 

Sic warkis did Sancte Niniane here, 

And mony vthire als and sere. 

Of the Bischope the nam ran sa 
In al the land to and fra ; 480 

And al that ware honeste men, 
Yarnit he suld thare barnis ken ; 
And he tacht thame for to be 
Godly, vyse, and vicis fle. 

Sa ymang vthire wes ane 485 

That he had til his doctrine tan, 
That had mysdone again bydding, 
Suppos it wes nocht ful gret thing ; 
And the Bischope wiste it in haste, 
Threu schawing of the Haly Gaste. 490 

For to be befte he had drede, 
Away he stal ful gud spede, 
And trewand in the halynes 
That he wist than in his maister wes, 
His patent can with hym ta 495 

Priuely, ore he wald ga, 
Trewand thareof but were 
To get helpe, gyf he had mystere, 
And fleid away with it rycht faste, 
(To be befte he wes sa gaste) 500 

Ay, til he come to the se, 
Yarnand oure it thane to be. 
And as he rane on the sand, 
Ane aide coble thare he fand, 
That mony hoilis in it had, 505 

474. He purchasit gratly. 479- f the bischope. 



56 S. NINIAN. 

And put it to the se but bad, 
And lap thareone forout drede, 
Fol. 338 b. In his purpos venand to spede. 
Bot, or it flet fra the lande 

Sa far a man mycht caste with hand, 510 

The coble beguth to synke, 
And the barne hyme can on thinke 
Of the mycht of Sanct Niniane. 
Forthi, his stafe sone has he tan, 
And in the maste hoile he fand, 5 1 5 

It thristit ful faste with his hand, 
Trewand succure for til hafe 
Of his meryt that acht the stafe, 
And askit pardone, gretand sare, 
Rycht as his maister had bene thare, 520 

Of the myse that he had wrocht 
Aganis hyme al for nocht. 
Sone wes the coble haile and bene 
As it wes euir, foroutyn wene ; 
And sa, that patent gouernande, 525 

Haile and sounde he com to lande, 
And lape sone out, and wes glad 
That he sic parele eschapit had ; 
And the patent with hyme brocht, 
Quhareof he saw sic wondir wrocht, 530 

And in the erde cane it thring, 
Of that merwale in remembryng, 
Requerand God it suld floure bere, 
Thru the meryt of his maistere. 
And wox it thar faste and al grene, 535 

And bare flouris and froite, that wes sene. 
And syne eftir in procese 
A gret tre and fayr it was. 
And at the rut of it syne 



515. in the maste. 527. wes gled. 531. thrink. 

535. and wox it that faste. 539. and that the rut. 



S. N INI AN. 57 

Thar sprang a wel fair and fyne 540 

Of watere, clere as cristel. 

Tharof men syndry gettis heile, 

In lowing of God, that is ay 

Mare ferlyful than men ma say 

In Halowis that war til Hym dere 545 

And pleisit Hyme til thai vare here ; 

As in his day did Niniane, 

That now helpis mony ane, 

In quhat distresse saeuir thai be 

Sted, in land ore yet be se. 5 50 

The Bischope passit a tyme, percase, 
In the land quhare his erand was, 
And his bruthir Prosebia, 
A haly man, can with hyme ga. 
Fol. 339 a. For that tyme wes na Prelate 555 

That men gef til sa mikil state, 
Yet wald he mekly on fete ga 
Fra paroche kirk to and fra, 
To visy in quhat wyse 

The kirkmen did thar seruice, 560 

Or hou lawit men can wirke 
In the treuth of Haly Kirke. 
Sa sayand thare Psalms be the gate 
Rist tha cane, for it wes hate, 
And fand a faire place, and set don, 565 

To pray in mare deuocione. 
And for that cause athir his buke 
Opnyt, and thareone can luke. 
And as thai Goddis wark can wirk, 
A cloud vondir blak and myrke 570 

Stroublit the ayre, in sic manere 
That the lifte, at befor wes clere, 
Wes myrkare thane the nycht. 

572. the lifte befor wes. 
E 



58 S. N INI AN. 

And tharewith fel the rane sa thycht 

That, quha that thare had ben to se, 575 

Suld wene Noyus flud suld be. 

Bot, quhare thire twa prayand ware, 

The fellone weddire thare forbare, 

And as a circle thame about 

The myrke cloud wes haldine oute, 580 

Sa na rane mycht entre thare, 

Quhare thai brethir sittand ware, 

That mycht dere thaim quhare thai sete, 

Na claith na buk nothir wete. 

And quhen the cloud wes away, 585 

Thai rase and passit one thare way, 

And lofit God hey one hycht, 

That sic solace had thaim dycht ; 

And quhare thai wald be thai com wele, 

And did thare devore ilke deile, 590 

As seruandis gud and leile, 

To lofe of God and of saule-heile. 

Thru sic merakle Sancte Niniane 
Fere gretare clerly schane, 

And thru his lif and his techinge 595 

Ensampil gef of gud lowing 
Til al that mycht hym se ore here, 
Or, quhare he can duel, com nere. 
For as a lavntern he wes lycht, 
That in myrknes giffis men sycht, 600 

Hou thai suld lefe erroure ay 
Fol. 339 *. And to uertu ches the vay 

And in this mirknes gang sa ewine, 

That thay emples mycht God in hevyn ; 

And til men of al estate 605 

Ledar he wes of the richt gat. 



589. wald be com. 594. and fere. 595. and thru lif; 

604. that ay. 604. mycbtty god. 



S. NINIAN. 



59 



And quhen the tyme cumyne was, 

That he of this lyf suld pas, 

Of parfit dat and rype elde, 6 I0 

Of Septembre the xvi day, 

At Quhythorne into Galouay, 

Fra Cristis birth thre hundir yere 

And twa and thretty to that nere ; 

And in Sanct Martynis Kirke 615 

Wes enterit, that he gert virke, 

And in a costlyk kiste of stane, 

Til mony yeris war ourgane. 

Thare God cesis nocht to virke 

For hyme merakles to strinth the Kirk. 620 

Rycht as he lefand here 

Ves clere in mony verkis sere, 

Sa God wirkis for hyme nov 

Ma ferlyis, for to ger men trew 

That, tho he of the warld dede be, 625 

God hyme has in mare dante, 

To ger men honoure hyme here 

And sek hyme of landis sere. 

And he to al is helpe and bute 

That hyme sekis on hors or fute. 630 

Forthi, Sancte Niniane, ve pray the 

Thou oure aduocat sa vil be, 

To hewinly blis we ma wyne 

But schame, dete, and dedly syne. 

Ofe the ferlys this is ane 635 

That God wrocht firste for Sancte Ninian, 
Fra this lyfe fra he can wend, 
Lestandly with God to lend. 
Thar duelt a man in that cunctre, 
That wes of bot sympil degre, 640 

And one his wyf a knafe child gat, 

612. that quhythorne. 634. dely syne. 635. fe the ferlys. 



60 S. NINIAN. 

That fadire and modyre gert sare gret ; 
For thru it haldine wes thar name 
In gret lak and in schame, 

And to the puple in vondrynge — 645 

Sa wes it borne a bysnyng — 
And in gret horrour but wene 
Til al that euire it had sene. 
For agane kynd wes it sa 

That bakwart stud heile and ta. 55° 

Fol. 340 a. And the face als to the bake 
It had, that gretly wes to lake. 
And the hend part thare neste 
Of the hed ves fast to the breste. 
Handis and armis to the kne 655 

Var drawine as al ane suld be. 
And vtrely wes it but profyte — 
I vat nocht gyf nature had the wit. 
Nocht-thane lang tyme thai it fede, 
For thai hyme gat in lachful bede, 660 

And tretyt weile that vnthrifte, 
Til eld had it brocht fra schrifte. 
And quhen modir and fadire bath 
Had sorouyt til the lyf thai lath, 
Thai held thame stil, tho thai wa ware, 665 

Nedly, for thai mycht no mare. 
And at the laste ran thame to thocht 
That gret vondire Sancte Niniane wrocht 
Of Goddis grace, to Quhom he 
Had bene seruand in al degre. 670 

And in traste of his mykil mycht, 
Thai tuk vpe that forworthine wycht, 
And brocht quhar Sancte Niniane lay, 
And it done laid and cane say : 
" Sanct Niniane, tak this gyfte, 675 

" Ve the bryng, a thing but thrifte ; 

646. bysyng. 655. handis and harmis. 



S. NINIAN. 61 

" The quhethire, tho it lathly be, 

" Inpossible is nocht to the 

" For to recouer it, gyf thu wil ; 

" Tharfor we bryng it her the til, 680 

" Othir be the to hafe remede 

" Of this mysfigur, or be dede. 

" Tharfor profe thi mykil mycht 

" For Goddis sak in this wicht ! " 

And as this done wes, in hart sare 685 

The bysnyne thing thai lefit thare, 

And went agane to thare place, 

Gretand and sayand, " Alace ! " 

Now wil ve her a ferly tel 
That of Sancte Ninian than befel. 690 

For, as cumyn ves the mydnycht, 
Thar apperit to that ful wycht 
A man schenand brycht and cler, 
As dois the sone that ve se here, 
And arayt in al thing 695 

As Bischope that Mes suld syng ; 
And with his hand twechit lychtly 
His hed, and bad hym ryse in hy 
And lofing til his Savor yeld, 
And one his vay than furth helde. 700 

Fol. 340 6. That bysnyne to this tuk kepe, 
And vaknit as of hewy slepe, 
And raxit hyme, and recouerit wele 
Oyse of lymmys ilke deile ; 

As kynd wald it suld be, 705 

Sa wes he mad in al degre. 
Thane passit he furth on hame, 
To thame that of hym had sic scham ; 
And thane had thai gret ioy and lykinge, 



680. tharfor we bryng her the. 689. ow wil ve. 690. a. Ninian that than befel. 
691. cumymyn. 698. and sad ryse in hy. 709. and lykine. 



62 S. N INI AN. 

And lofit deuotely Hevynnis King, 710 

And to the Abbay rane but mare, 

And it tald til al thai fand thare, 

Hou Sanct Niniane had don that thing. 

Than gert thai the bellis rynge, 

And gert this thing knawine be 715 

Til al that ware in the cunctre, 

And gert it thare be put in wryt, 

That men suld lang tym think on it. 

I treu thare lifis nane 
That al cane say of Sancte Ninian, 720 

That wes sa mek a confessoure 
And of vicis persecutore, 
Lofare of vertu and dyspysare 
Of the warld, of hewine yarnar. 
And for he studit here to be 725 

Pouer, in Hewine Rike is he. 
Ay wes he besy for sawle-heile, 
In gret trawale as seruand leile. 
And for he sa weile wrocht, 

Of Hyme, God forgetful is nocht, 730 

Bot his relykis menskis ay, 
Quhare thai ar ferterit in Galouay. 
The quhilk fertir men beris ay 
Of Witsone Owke the Twysday, 
Vith festiuale processione, 735 

Til a Chepal beowt the ton, 
Nere the quartare of a myl, 
And, as it thare has ben a quhile, 
Hame to the Abbay thai it bere 
Vith gret solempnyte and fere. 740 

Bot one it lais na man hand, 
Bot the maste vorthi of the land, 
That be lyne of successione, 
Beris it in processione. 

711. thane but mare. 732. quhare thai ar feterit. 



S. NINIAN. 63 

And that tyme, for the pardone gret, 745 

Mony pressis thare it to get. 
That pardone is lestand ay 
Fra the forsad Twysday, 
Of Sanct Iohnne the Baptist to the birth, 
Bath vith solempnite and mirth. 750 

Fol. 341 a. Forthi that tyme ilke yere 
Men cumis of landis sere, 
Of France, of Ingland, and of Spanye, 
Of the pardone for bewanye, 

And of al landis this halfe Proyse 755 

Men cumis thare of commone oyse, 
Of Valis and Irland eke 
Thar hyddir men wil seke, 
In sic nowmir, I tak one hande, 
That sic day tene thousande 760 

Thar men wil se, forout mare 
Oftyme that cumis thare. 

And tharof suld nane ferly, 
For the merwalis done ithandly, 
That he kithis one sare and seke, 765 

That deuotely vil hyme seke, 
Or fastis vith deuocione 
His fasting, that nov is commone ; 
That is, Fryday fra the novne 
Til Sonday at the Mes be done. 770 

And how men fastis it, gif thou vil spere, 
Thryse ilke rath of the yere ; 
Twise togiddire, the third be skil 
In that quartare quhen thu wil. 
For he that in honour of Niniane 775 

Deuotely that faste has tane, 
Quhen he fastis, gyf that he 
In state of grace and gud lyfe be, 

754. for for be wanye. 761. that men wil forout mare. 



64 S. N INI AN. 

He sal eschewe of his yarnyng, 
Bot it be vnleful thing. 7%° 

For at Quhythorne is wrocht ilke day 
Fer ma vonderis thane I cane say, 
Of Sancte Niniane be the prayere 
For men that ar in parilis here, 
One sey, one land, or in seknes, 7^5 

Or ony maner of distres. 
Of the quhilkis, gyf I tald nov 
The teynd part, men suld nocht trev. 
For def men thar gettis herynge, 
And blynd als parfit seynge ; 790 

Halt men als thare gettis bute, 
That has seknes in hand ore fute ; 
And dume als gettis the speke, 
That mekily vil Niniane seke ; 
And als of parlesy 795 

Men gettis thar heile parfitly, 
And sume thru ydropcy sa grete 
Swolline, that thai ma nocht ete, 
Ar swampe mad at the prayere 
Fol. 341 i. Of Sanct Niniane, hale and fere ; 800 

And vthir that of thare vit 
Vod ar, gettis it ; 

And sume that pane had of the stane, 
Or seknes in flesch or bane, 

Or quhat-kyne Infirmyte 805 

Man haf, gyf that he 
Socht Sanct Niniane deuotely, 
Gat heile, tho it ware myslary, 
Thru the Giffar of al grace, 

To Quhame Sanct Niniane seruand vas. 810 

And grant God that we ma be 
His seruandis in lyk degre, 
Of this lyf that we ma twyne 
But det, schame, and dedly syne. 

797. and ydropcy grete. 802. vod war. 813. we ma twene. 



S. NINIAN. 65 

Of Sanct Niniane yet I yu tel 815 

A ferly that in my tyme befel, 
In Galoway, til a nobil knycht, 
That Sir Fargus Magdouel hicht, 
And hardy vas of hart and hand, 
And had the leding of the land, 820 

In vorschipe and slachtyr bath 
One Inglismen to do skath. 
And for thai had of hyme ay doute, 
Thai var richt besy ay aboute 
To fynd sum get hyme to grewe, 825 

Gyf fortone wald thole thaim eschewe. 
And quhen thai had sere vais socht, 
And fand that thai profit nocht, 
That thai mycht nocht do be mycht, 
Thai schupe thaim for to do be slycht ; 830 

And spyale gat to se quhen he 
Fra strinth of men mycht fundyn be, 
That thai mycht cum on hyme thane, 
And tak hyme but skath of men. 
Thane the thre Counteis of Carleile 835 

To this var accordit weile, 
And borne of Galouay gat a spy, 
That to vyne gold ves rycht besy. 
Forthi stithly he swar thane, 
Tho he ves a Scottismane, 840 

That he suddandly suld fulfil 
The connand he mad thame til, 
And thai one tuk his payment, 
In hope to fulfil thare entent, 
And socht opartunyte 845 

How that best mycht thane be, 
As vmquhyle did Iudas, 
That Cristis awne discipil vas. 
For is nane, I vndirta, 



815. f sanct Niniane. 
r 



66 S. N INI AN. 

Fol. 342 a. Sa pautener na sa fellone fa 850 

As is mast hamely, gyf that he 
Vil wikit man or tratour be. 
Rycht sa this man that vas hamely 
With hyme, thane can hyme espy, 
Til he viste sere placis, quhar he 855 

With fow folkis suld lugit be ; 
And thane to Carleile vent one ane 
And tald tharof the capytane 
Of his erand that he had done. 
And thane the capytane alsone 860 

The thre Counteis in til hy 
Gert be gadderit ful priwely, 
And one into Galouay rade 
The nycht that the triste ves made. 
Bot the Knycht, at viste nocht 865 

Of this tresone aganis hym wrocht, 
In til a housband ton that nycht, 
To slepe and ese hyme, can dycht. 
And as he halfine slepand lay, 
In his bed befor the day, 870 

Thar come a man lyk to be 
A bischope in al degre, 
And put one hyme faste twise or thrise, 
And bad that he suld son ryse, 
For a gret oste of Ingland, 875 

For to supprice hym, var cumand ; 
And bad hyme pas and haf na doute 
To contre thaim, tho thai var stoute ; 
For he suld in his helping be. 
Thane askit he quhat vas he. 880 

Quod he : " Niniane is my name 
" In Quhityrne, quhare I duel at ham." 
The Knycht thane, as a dochty man, 
Dicht hyme belyf, and on hors van. 

850. sa paytener. 882. in quhityre. 



S. N IN IAN. 67 

And quhen he bone ves to ryde, 885 

He had na man vith hym that tyde 
That ves gadderit yet hyrae til, 
Bot twenty men, gud and il. 
And his menstrale, Iak Trumpoure, 
That vas gud man and gud burdoure, 890 

Of his maister vitand nocht, 
Na of the gret oste hym than socht, 
Come rydand thru the vod percace, 
Quhar al the fais cumand vas. 
Bot myste ves in sic degre 895 

That nan mocht a stane caste se. 
Bot Iak, that vas be the gatsyd, 
Quhare the Inglis com that tyd, 
Fol. 342 b. And vend veile it had his lord bene 

That gadderit had his men bedene, 900 

Vnwittand hyme, to mak sum rade, 

And trumpit heily but abade, 

And with al mycht bettir blew. 

The Inglis, that blaste vele knew, 

And vend thar spy betraisit had 905 

Thame to the Knycht, and but abad 

Thai fled fast, and durst nocht byd. 

And the Knycht, one the tothire syd, 

Quhen he hard his trumpat blaw, 

Come on hastely, but ony haw, 910 

Quhare thai ware fleand, the self vay. 

And tharwith wox sa brycht the day, 

That he saw thame fle but areste, 

Vnknyt, scalit in the foreste. 

And tharewith sohe gadderit the land, 915 

That til hyme com son on hand, 

And thare fais sa agaste, 

Thai chasit sa ferly fast, 

That the best part of thaim ves slane, 

904. and Inglis. 905. vend thar spy. 916. and til hyme. 



68 S. NINIAN. 

And feile to yeld thaim vare rycht fayne ; 920 

Quheine eschapit, but merdale, 

That for to tak ves nan awaile. 

And sa wane the Scottismen gret riches, 

Quhare-for the land relewit ves. 

And the Knycht reparit hame 925 

With wictory and with gud name, 

And went to Quhithorne but abad, 

And to Sanct Niniane offerand mad. 

Thar-of eftire, in schort quhile, 

He gert his quere rycht wele tyle, 930 

In mynd of the dede that he 

Did for hyme in sic degre. 

Sa byrd al Galouya hym honoure 

That to thame is sic patronoure, 

Quhen thai ned haf, gyf that thai 935 

In stat of grace wil hym pray. 

For-thi honoure be til Hewynis King, 

And to Sanct Niniane honouryng 

In al tyme of lifand men. 

Thar-to say we al " Amen." 940 

This wes done but lessinge, 

Quhen Sir Davi Bruys ves king. 

In Ingland syne betyd, 
A wikit man, that gret myse dede, 
For his purpos to be tane 945 

And put in pressone stith of stane. 
And he, sa in pressone sted, 
To de ful dede ves ful rad. 
And, tho he wes in sic effray, 
Fol r« a ^ et ^ e vmt bocht he herd say, 950 

That quha-sa had vndirtane 
To fast, or sek S. Niniane, 
That he suld help thaim til cum out 
Of quhat parel thai had dout. 

924. relewit was. 943. n Ingland. 946. suth of stane. 



S. NINIAN. 69 

For-thi to Sancte Niniane mad he 955 

A wou, gyf he ware mad fre 

Of that dout, that he suld seke 

Sancte Niniane on his bare fet, 

And fast his fast with gud wil, 

Gyf he mycht fredome get thare-til, 960 

And thare, quhar he wes mad faste, 

Deuotely beguth the fast. 

Thane weilang in that pynful pyt 

In gret dissese he cane sit. 

Syne come the Serefe to the ton, 965 

And to hald the law set done, 
And gert the mysdoaris bryng 
To curt, to here chalansing 
Of sere trespas that var done. 
Thane ves he brocht to curt sone, 970 

And asyse callit of worthy men, 
And he accusit stratly thane 
Of sere poynttis, quhare-in he 
Had trespassit in the cunctre, 
And with asyse culpable mad, 975 

And to the gebet demyt but bad ; 
Thane to the rape wes til thifte. 
A prest wes brocht to here his schrifte. 
Thane presit mony to conway 
Hyme to the gebet ewine the way, 980 

And that he suld nocht eschape, 
About his nek thai knyt a rape, 
And tit hym vpe, and lefit hyme thare, 
And ilke man away can fayre. 

Bot, tho that he ves for his gilt 985 

Be manis sicht sa foul spilt, 
Yet duelt ane by hyme, lik to be 

963. in that pyful pyt. 972. strati thane. 978. to conwoy. 



70 S. NINIAN. 

A bischope in al degre, 
That kepit hyme sa in that sted, 
That he mycht feile na pane of ded, 990 

And, quhen nycht com, tuk hyme done, 
And sad : " Ga frely to the ton 
" Forout dout of effray ! " 
Thane cane that wrech til hym say : 
" Gud man, for God I pray the 995 

" Tel quhat thu art that helpis me I " 
Quod he : " Niniane is my name 
Fol. 343 b. " At Quhithirne quhare I duel at ham, 
" And here is cummyne to helpe the 
" For thi awou thu mad to me, 1000 

" Thare-for ga furth and be nocht rad, 
" Tho thu be in parele sted, 
" For I sal ay be the nerehand, 
" Gyf thu be to me treu seruand." 
With that he went away, 1005 

And that catife but mare delay 
Vent to the tone, als apertly 
As he had neuire bene gilty. 

Thane one the morne at dais Iycht, 
As men one hym gottine had sycht, 1010 

The keparis of the law hym fand, 
And smertly his handis band 
Be-hynd his bak, and sad that he 
Suld mare treuly hangit be. 

Thane ves he harlit but let, 1015 

And hangit fast one a gebet. 
And al bad by hyme in that sted 
Til thame thocht that he wes ded, 
And syne held thare way bedene. 

The Bischope, that ves nocht sene, 1020 

Helpyt hyme as he did are, 

998. at quhithirne quare I. 1020. for the bischope. 102 1. hepyt thame. 



S. NINIAN. 71 

And to the ton ek gert hym fare. 

And thare duelt trastly he that nycht, 

Til one the morne at dais lycht, 

And but dout vpe and done 1025 

Did his erandis in the ton. 

Bot that day, ore it wes none, 

A seruand one hyme hand lad son, 

And sad, with wichcraft he delt, 

And feile men opynly he telt, 1030 

And sad that he suld no mare 

Dissawe men as he did are. 

And sone assemblit his commone, 

And harlit hym sone of the towne, 

And, his handis bundine bath 1035 

Behynd his bale, hangit hyme rath, 

And bad yet by in that sted, 

Til thame thocht he ves ded ; 

And ilke man held his way. 

Bot the Bischope helpit hym ay, 1040 

As he befor twyse had done. 
And to the tone yet went he sone, 
And als pertly duelt als stil 
As he had neuir done ony il. 
Bot or he had bene lang tym thare, 1045 

Fol. 344 a. He ves hynt be how and hayre, 

And to the Serefe brocht fut-hete, 

That gert hyme swere thare how-gat 

The ded he had eschapit thryse, 

And he condempnyt be leile syse. 1050 

Ansuere sone til hyme he yald, 

And the manere al hale hym tald, 

Hou he mad quhen he ves tane, 

His awou til Sancte Niniane, 



1023. trastly that. 1034. and harlit sone. 

1036. behynd his bale hyme rath. 1049. The ded he eschapit thryse. 



72 S. NINIAN. 

Til fast his fasting, and tharetil eke 1055 

On his bare fet hyme to sek, 

Gyf he wald helpe hym til eschape 

The schameful ded of sword or rape ; 

" Thare-for, quhen ye hangit me, 

" Venand weile I suld ded be, 1060 

" Sanct Niniane ves ay by me nere, 

" And me kepit haile and fere, 

" And with me spak and bad me be 

" His seruand, and he suld kepe me. 

" And that tym wes richt nane 1065 

" Mycht hyme se bot I alane." 

And quhen he has this taile tald, 
Al had wondire, yung and aid, 
That he suld sagat eschape, 

That sa hangit ves vith the rape 1070 

Thre dais fra none to nycht 
Be lachtful iugment and rycht. 
Than thai haf to consel tane 
That for the sak of Sancte Niniane, 
Agane quham thai vald hald na strife, 1075 

That thai vald gyf the thefe the lif, 
Tho that tyme bot litil fame 
Ves rysine of this Sancte Niniane. 
That man syne yerly can hym seke 
Al nakit, bot sark and breke, 1080 

like yere, I tak one hand, 
Fra quhare he duelt in Ingland. 
Til God be ioy and lowing ay, 
That sic meraklis fpr His schewit ay ! 
And this sa schort tyme gane ves 1085 

That yet it is in memor fresch. 

Ane vthire tyme oure Solouay sand 
Ane Inglis ost come in. Scotland 
Thru Nydisdale the ewine way, 

1056. On his fet. 



S. NINIAN. 73 

Thane socht into Galouay ; 1090 

And that sa priuely ves done 
That of thame vist rycht quhon, 
Til the forroUris scalit ware 
In al the cunctre here and thare, 
Fol. 344 1. And prayt nere the cunctre hale, 1095 

And brocht thar pray nere to thar stale. 
Thar thai abad nocht ful lang, 
Bot hame blyth went of that fang, 
And thar departyt thai thar pray, 
And ilkane a sere gat held away, 1 100 

Til thai come til thare wynnyngplace. 

And ymang vthire, ane thar wes 
That of retenu wes for thane 
Of that land til a mychtty man, 
That in fet was sa sek, 1 105 

And in handis and armis eke, 
That he mycht nocht gang of the place, 
Na bryng his handis til his face 
To fed hyme-self ; yet wes he 
The mast fellone man that mycht be, 1 1 10 

And cruel and pautenere. 
And at his sad man can he spere 
Hou thai had done quhare tha var, 
And quhat wynnyng thai gat thare ; 
" And quhat my thred tharof sal be," 1115 

He sad til hyme : " Thu lat me se ! " 
Quod he : " Lord, sa haf I sele, 
"In Galouay we haf don rycht wele, 
" And of the thing that I thare wane, 
" Ye sal haf thred as of yure man, 1 1 20 

1092. rycht quhen. 1094. al the cunctre. 

1096. And brocht nere to thar stale. 1097. that thar. 

1099. And thar departyt thar pray. 1101. thare wynnyg place. 

1 103. for thame. The last stroke of the m is crossed through. 
11 11. partynere. 1120. yure men. 

G 



ft. S. N IN IAN. 

" Of nowt, schepe, hors and ky ; 
" And of that land yet brocht haf I 
" A man to you as presonere, 
" Thar-with for to mend youre chere." 
Than sad he : " Mot weile thu fare ! 1125 

" For is nocht mycht pies me mare 
" Than a Scot I mycht se. 
" For, tho I thus bundine be, 
" Yet suld I sla hyme but abad, 
" Tho I assith for thi part mad." 1 130 

Than smyland sad the man hym til : 
" Me think ye of il rewlit wil 
" Gyf ye vald sla, gyf that ye mocht, 
" A presoner that war you brocht." 
Sad he : " Bath I wil and ma 1 135 

" Hyme sla, gif thu dois as I say. 
" Bundine bryng hyme to me but let, 
" And in my mouth the heft thou set 
" And outwart the blad of a knyfe ; 
" And sone sal I ref his lyfe." 1 140 

The squyar sad : " Sir, be the Buke, 
" The Scottisman that I tuke, 
" To saufe his lyf I hicht lely 
" For it that he mycht gif gudly. 
" Thar-for wil I nocht thole that he 1 145 

Fol. 345 a. " Be sa slane for ocht ma be." 

Yet the squyar had hyme brocht 
Til his presence, tho he wist nocht, 
That herd hym schew the fellone wil 
Al Scottismen that he had til, 1 1 50 

And sad : " Sir, quhat wynnyng had ye, 
" Tho ye had mycht, to sla me ? 



1128. I this bundine be. 1132. Me think ye il rewlit wil. 

1 133. Gyf ye vald sa. 



S. NINIAN. 75 

" Bettir war to be stil 

" Thane desyre a man to spil ; 

" For to God I cont a fa 1155 

" That but chesone a man wald sla. 

" Bot God forbed that man mychtty 

" To sla war of sic fellonny 

" As ye, gif ye your handis had ! 

" For bettir ware a wou ye mad 1 160 

" One Godis half to Sancte Ninian, 

" To sek hyme sone or ye fane ; 

" For of his helpe recouer ye may 

" Al your lymmys, I dare say." 

Than sad he : " Is thu the Scot 1 165 

" That my squyere withoutyn dout 

" Hecht thu suld safit be ? 

" For gif ne ware, sa mot I the, 

" In my mouth suld cum na bred 

" Til that sudandly thu war ded ; 1 170 

" Tho in my mouth I held the knyfe, 

" Yet suld thu tharwith lef the life." 

Than sad he : " Sir, I consel yow 

" To Sancte Niniane yet ye awou, 

" In gud entent and hart meke 1175 

" Ye faste his faste, and hyme seke 

" In hope that he grace sal gif you til, 

" To wauld youre lymmys at your wil. 

" For I wat weile, he is of mycht 

" To ger yu haf youre lymmys rycht, 1 1 80 

" Be sere ferlyse 1 wat he 

" Has wrocht in mony infirmyte." 

His spek cane the lord enples 
Sumething, and his hart gef ese. 
Quod the lord : " Tho I ne trew 1185 

" Al that thu sais me as now, 

1 168. For gif ne that ware. 



76 S. NINIAN. 

" Yet sal I in Galouay fare 

" But bad, to Sanct Niniane thare, 

" And fast deuotely his fasting, 

" Of my lymmys for recouering. 1 190 

" And thu sal byd ma here behynde, 

' In case that he wil nocht me mende, 

" That thu ma lose the lif with schame 

" For thi spekine, quhen I cume hame." 

Thane vrat he for a condyt, 1 195 

And it was grantit hym tyt ; 

And he rycht rathly mad yare, 

And furth on sown can he fare, 

To sek Sancte Ninian in Galouay 

And for his heile til hym pray. 1200 

And to the place as he ves cumyne, 

Men of his hors hym has nummyn, 

And in the kirk, or thai fane, 

Thai brocht hym befor Sanct Ninian, 

And mad hym thar a bed fut-hat, 1 205 

As efferit til his estate. 

The mast part of that nycht he lay 
Vakand, and yarne can pray 
To Sanct Niniane, hyme to mend, 
And in his lymmys helpe hym send. 12 10 

And al the morne duelt he stil, 
Prayand sumdele with iwil vil, 
For he gat nocht heile sa sone 
As he demyt he suld haf done. 
Yet duelt he thar that nycht stil, 1215 

And the hale morne thar-til, 
Vith angry wil, for that he, 
As he vald, mycht nocht helpyn be, 
And faucht and flat with Niniane, 
And sad oftyme hyme alane : 1220 

1 188. to sic Niniane. 1 192. In case tho. 



S. NINIAN. 77 

" Ves I nocht wele prowit a sot, 

" That trewit sa son to the Scot, 

" That sa stratly had vndirtane 

" His Scottis lord, Sanct Niniane, 

" Suld gyf me heile, gif I hym socht ? 1225 

" Bot that ves fals, for he ne mocht. 

" And suppos that he had mycht 

" To helpe me as the Scot hicht, 

" I suld haf wityne had I bene 

" Vyse and put out of wene, 1230 

" That Scottisman of Galouay than 

" Suld neuire helpe ony Inglisman, 

" Or yet recouer hym of his sare, 

" Bot erare purchas that he sek vare. 

" Tharfor, gif I ma cum hame, 1235 

" The Scot sal de vith gret schame, 

" That gert me mak this travale, 

" Hichtand it suld me awale ! " 

Vith this he left nocht, but ofte can ban 
Sancte Niniane, the haly man ; 1240 

For men hurt communly 
Ar mar turne and mare angry, 
One quhat wyis sa it fal, 
Fol. 346 a. Thane he that has his lymmys al ; 

And eth is for til eke 1245 

Disese til hyme that is seke. 

And fywe causis ar thai sere 
Quhy men ar tormentit here : 
Othir for vertu in prowyng, 

As tyd of lob in fanding, 1250 

For he held ay tholmodnes 
In tynsale of gud and seknes ; 



1239. but efte. 1247- cause. 1248. ar torment. 



78 S. NINIAN. 

Or of meknes for yemsele, 

As to Sancte Paule quhile befel, 

That had gret fanding in his fles 1255 

To hald hyme in -to mekness, 

Ellis suld oure proud haf bene, 

For the sicht he in hewine had sene. 

The thrid cause is but were 

For synnis to be clengit here, 1260 

As tyd of hyme lang can ly 

In seknes of perlesy, 

To quham Criste sad : " Ryse al fre, 

" For thi syne is forgiffine the." 

The ferd is, to mak vnhyd 1265 

The ioy of God, as quhile betyd 

Of hym that borne ves blynd man 

And syne thru Criste his sicht wan. 

The fyft is, the betaknyng 

Of al-lestand dampnynge, 1 270 

As first here thare be giffine, 

And syne euir in hel to vyne, 

As of Iudas quhyl betyd 

For the tresone he Crist did. 

Bot quhilk of thir causis gert be 1275 

This man in torment, nov sa ye ! 

Thane, quhen he had chyd his fil, 
His men mekly sad hyme til : 
" Sir, ye ma haf na bewayne 
" Vith Sanctis this to mak bargane, 1280 

'' For of thame for ony thret 
" Men ar nocht wont thare erand get ; 
" Bot erare mon be askit thai 
" With meknes than with outray. 
" Tharfor lefis youre crabitnes, 1285 

" And this a nycht with meknes 

1255. flesch. I275- quhilk thir cause. 1282. thare erand gat. 

1283. mon be thai. 



S. NINIAN. 79 

" To Sancte Niniane makis prayere 

" That he will mak you haile and fere, 

" And to-morne but delay, 

" Gyf ye wil, fare hame youre way ! " 1290 

And that nycht as he slepand lay, 
A lytil befor the day, 
Fol. 346 b. Ane put one hyme, lyk to be 
A bischope in al degre. 

Thane waknyt he in gret affray, 1295 

And sone to that man cane say : 
" I pray the, that waknis me, 
" Tel me thi nam, quhat thu be ! " 
Quod he : " Niniane is myn name, 
" That the waknis for to blame 1300 

" For the foly that thu did, 
" When thu with me sa roydely chid, 
" And mystrowand that I mocht 
" Helpe the ocht, thu me socht. 
" Thare thu mys did, nocht anerly 1305 

" To me but to God Almychtty, 
" Mystrowand He wald gif me mycht 
" Thi lath lymmys for to rycht ; 
" And nocht conuertand thare-of thane, 
" Sad thu suld ger sla my mane ; 13 10 

" For he for thi gud eggit the 
" To cum here the way to sek me. 
" Bot thu sal wit now be sycht 
" That God has grantit me sic mycht, 
" That I ma helpe quhom I wil, 1 3 1 5 

" That mekly sekis here me til. 
" Thy lymmys haile and fere sal be, 
" Bot with thine ene thu sal nocht se, 
" That vthire ma ensample tak 
" Vith Halouys bargane to mak. 1320 

1301. thu ded 1311. for the gud ekit the. 1317. haile and fare. 



80 S. N INI AN. 

" But ga thu nov hale ham, and send me 
" My man, tho thu stane-blynd be, 
" Or thu sal wyt I ame of mycht 
" Ver thane thu wes the to dycht." 

This Sanct Niniane vent away, 1325 

And that fellone, quhare he lay, 
Raxit hyme, and fand hale 
His lymmys al that mad hym bale ; 
And bad his curting vpe suld be 
Drawine, the lycht for to se. 1330 

And quhene it vpe ves tycht, 
Thane wist he, he had tynt the sycht, 
And gretand sare, he sad : " Alace ! 
" For myn ogart I haf tynt grace ! 
" That is oure-weile kyd one me ; 1335 

" For blynd I ame quhyt and fre. 
" But lofit be thu, Sancte Niniane ; 
" Thocht thu fra me the sycht has tane, 
" My lymmys hale thu has me lent, 
" Quhare-in lang I haf had turment, 1 340 

" To gere be me mysterful kene 
" That wele thu may helpe al mene, 
" And to be were be me that thai 
Fol. 347 a. " Nocht but lowyng of the say ; 

" For be me knawine has thu made 1345 

" That thu can helpe and hurt but bade. 1 ' 

Thane went he one til his lande, 
And this tald til al he fande, 
And sone his presonere hame sende, 
And gef hyme gud hyme til amende. 1350 

For-thi, ioyful Sanct Niniane, 
That oft helpis mony ane, 
Agane al fais thu helpe me, 

1322. my man thu stand blynd. 1332. he tynt. 1341. be mysterful. 



S. NINIAN. 81 

Sene or vnsene quhethir thai be ; 

And gyf me grace sa til lif here, 1355 

Quhethire I be haile or ellis fere, 

Out of this varld I ma twyne 

But schame, det, and dedly syne. 

A lytil tale yet herd I tel, 
That in to my tyme befel, 1360 

Of a gudman, in Murrefe borne 
In Elgyne, and his kine beforne, 
And callit vas a faithful man 
Vith al thame that hyme knew than. 
And this mare trastely I say, 1 365 

For I kend hyme weile mony day. 
Iohne Balormy ves his name, 
A man of ful gud fame. 
And in processe of tyme tyd hyme 
Til haf the worme in til his lyme, 1 370 

And wrocht sa in his schank and kne, 
That bath ware thai lyk tynt to be ; 
For bath thai var sa swollyne 
Of that worme fellone, and bollyne, 
And at syndry holis rynnand, 1 375 

That one that syd he mycht nocht stand, 
Na gang na fut of the sted, 
To wyne his fude na eschew ded. 
And that held hyme ful thre yere, 
Ay were and were in that manere, 1380 

That helpe of gris gat he nane, 
Na of charme na of stane. 

Syne a tyme, as he lay, 
Hyme come to mynd he herd say, 
That, quha wald Sanct Niniane seke 1385 

And to fast his fasting awou eke, 



1354. quethir. 1359. lytil tale. 1375. and that. 

H 



82 S. N INI AN. 

That he suld gif thaim thare askynge, 
Bot it ware wnleful thyng. 
Tharfor he awouyt, ore he fayne, 
To fast and sek Sanct Niniane, 1 39° 

In hope sic grace he suld gif hyme, 
That he mycht weile recouer the lyme. 
And fra he sic awou had made, 
Of the mast redy gud he hade, 
Sone his spending he can mak yare 1395 

Fol. 347 b. Thar-with he suld to Quhythorne fare, 
And gat men to by hyme be," 
To helpe hyme in necessyte. 
And quhen this wes redy made, 
He fure his way but abade, 140° 

And held one the nerraste way, 
Quhar met and drink ves fundine ay. 
And mylys are; — quha cane tel ? — 
Fra Eglyne, quhar he can duel, 
To Quhythirne, I dare say, I4°S 

Twa hundre myle of met way. 
Yet with disese and payne 
Ydire he wane, and ves fayne. 
And quhen he come to the kirk, 
Thai tuk hyme of his horse ful irke, 1410 

And one twa handis and a kne 
To the hye altere trawalyt he, 
And offerit thare ; and men hyme dycht 
A bed to ly on in that nycht. 
And he that sare wes and wery, 141 5 

Slepit oure that nycht sadly. 
And one the morne, as it dew day, 
Til hyme that halfly slepand lay, 
Sancte Niniane cane apere, 

And teyndirly cane at hyme spere, 1420 

Gif he in wil wes to fulfil 

1387. thare askyne. 1410. horse irk. 14 I4-Iy in. 1416. slepand. 



S. NINIAN. 83 

The awou he mad hyme til. 

Quod he, " Ya," for wa or weile 

He suld fulfill it ilke deile. 

Thane said Sanct Niniane : " Tho I spere, 1425 

" Thi gud wil haf I nocht in were ; 

" Bot sen thu has with gret disese 

" This trawele mad me til enples, 

" I lat the wit thu sal nocht 

" Thy erand tyne that thu has thocht. 1430 

" For-thi gang hame, quhen-euir thu wil ! 

" For, tho thu cume one hors me til, 

" To gang hame thu sal hable be 

" One thy fete in prosperyte, 

" And haf thy lyme hale and lycht, 1435 

" As euire thu had in thi mast mycht." 

And as day come, he fand his schank 

Hale and fere, and yarne can thank 

God of his grace, and Sanct Niniane, 

And mad this kyd til mony ane ; 1440 

For bath his schank and his kne 

Ware als haile in al degre 

As thai ony tyme befor wes, 

Owtane thare wes les of flesche, 

And smallare sume part, but wene, 1445 

Thane the todire leg had bene. 

And this merwalle wes mad kyd. 



1447. meralle. 
• The next leaf, with the conclusion, is wanting. 



S. MACHOR. 



SUMMARY OF LEGEND. 



Prologue on the ignorance in Scotland respecting S. Machor's great- 
ness and merit, 1-34 ; his birth and name, 35-42 ; his fosterage, 43-48 ; 
the angels which visit him are seen by the king his father, 49-106 ; 
the touch of his body restores his dead brother to life, 107-164 ; he is 
miraculously delivered from death by burning, 165-210; his miracul- 
ous rescue from drowning, 211-288; his education and aptness as a 
scholar, 289-316; he is sent to S. Columba, under whom he increases 
in wisdom and holiness, 317-434; he resolves to accompany his 
master, 435-466 ; his name is changed by Columba from Mocumma 
to Machore, 467-476 ; he sails with Columba, and is carried ashore at 
Iona by Melluma, 477-514 ; they settle in Iona, 515-538 ; Machor is 
sent to Mull, where he preaches the Gospel, and heals seven lepers, 
and returns, 539-557 ; he devotes himself to studying and copying 
Scriptures, and on one occasion obtains light by blowing on his 
fingers, 558-568 ; his brethren attempt to poison him, 569-626 ; 
Columba sends him away to preach the Gospel, and on his departure 
his enemies are reconciled to him, 627-736 ; he lands in the north of 
Scotland, and is well received by Farcare, a Christian, who gives him 
land, whereon he builds a church, 737-788 ; he miraculously provides 
water for the workmen, 789-800 ; he makes disciples, 801-808 ; he is 
visited by S. Devinick, with whom he makes an agreement as to the 
field of their labours, 809-860; he turns a bear into stone, 861-872 ; 
he converts Dinon, a sorcerer, 873-904 ; he heals one born blind, 
905-924 ; he restores a kinsman of S. Columba to life, 925-948 ; the 
punishment of two young Irishmen who mock at him, 949-982 ; sand 
sown as seed springs up into a harvest of corn, 983-1004 ; he delivers 
one in great peril of choking from a bone in his throat, and builds a 
church on the land given to him in gratitude, 1005-1063 ; he is visited 
by S. Ternan, 1064-1146; the death and burial of S. Devinick, 
1147-1214; he accompanies S. Columba to Rome, where he is made 
bishop and instructed in the duties of a bishop, 12T5-1303; they leave 
Rome and tarry at Tours, where S. Columba leaves Machor, who for 
three and a half years occupied the Chair of S. Martin, 1304-1496 ; 
his death, 1497-1566 ; his burial, 1567-1580 ; the miracles wrought at 
his tomb, 1581-1614. 
86 



S. MACHOR. 



For that oyse is generate 
In Haly Kyrk Vniuersale, 
In worschipe of God, and lowing 
Of Halowis to say and syng 
The farleis that in thame were 5 

Thru God til thai ware duelland here ; 
Fol. 191 a. Bot befor vthyr I wald fayne, 

And I had cunnyng, set my mayne 

Sume thing to say of Sancte Moryse, 

That in his tym was ware and wis 10 

And in the erd of sic renown, 

And als in hewine sa hye patron 

Of Aberden in the cite, 

Thru haly lif was wont to be. 

Bot Ihesu Crist in the Ewangele, 15 

Quhen at He techit, sad sum quhyle, 

That na profet, quhaeuir he be, 

Is accept in his cunctre. 

And suth is that prophesy 

In Sanct Morys werraly ; 20 

For quhen are in this land at wat 

His birth, his lif, and syne his stat, 

And hou, eftyre gret trawal, on chance, 

God mad hym to rest syn in France, 

In Toron, til honouryt be, 25 

Set thare a strangere was he, 

And fetryt is by Sancte Martyne, 



6. duelland he. 17. quhat euir. 



87 



88 S. MACHOR. 

And haldine thar in gret lowing. 

Bot in this land we ken hym nocht, 

Quhare he wondir werkis wrocht, 30 

As I sal schortly tel sum thing, 

Begynnand fyrst at his gettyng, 

And of his byrth, and hou that he 

Schupe hym to God plesand to be. 

A King quhyle was in Irland, 35 

To man and God wel lifand, 
And had Syaconus to name. 
And his wyf of gud fame, 
The Quene Synchene men callit thare, 
That a sone to the King bare, 40 

And gert ful michtty men hym ta, 
And bere and cal hym Mocumma, 
And to fostyre betuk hym thane 
Til ane callit Teleman, 

The quhilk had riches at wil. 45 

For-thi he tuk the child hym til, 
And gat a nuryse gud in hy, 
The quhylk hyme fosterit tendirly. 
And he thrawe that wele fosterit was ; 
And as he greu sa Godis grace 50 

Fol. 191 i. Greu in hyme ay, sa that he 

With angelis wald oft visyt be. 

Thane tyd the King a tyme to ryd 

In the cunctre nere be-syd 

Quhare dweland wes this Telman. 55 

Bot knawlag had the King nan 

That his sovn wes fosteryt thare. 

Bot as he by the house can fare, 

He saw angelis fare and brycht 

One the ruf of that house lycht, 60 

And oft com ydyr out of hewine, 

48. quylk deliuer. 



S. MAC H OR. 89 

And enter yt, syngand with a stewyn. 
The King that saw this had ferly, 
And speryt at thame ware hym by, 
Quha aucht the house he saw thar, 65 

And quha thare duelt in that sythware. 
And sad thai : " Sa haf we blyse ; 
" Youre son fosterit thare-in is." 
The Kyng, that ioyful than wes, 
Into the house but mare can pas, 70 

And til his son he held in hy, 
Quhare he can in the credil ly, 
And saw the angelis to and fra 
Cum oft, and hym comfort ma, 
About his credil gangand 75 

With melody and angelsang. 
This quhen the King had heard and sen, 
The ioy he had wald no man wen ; 
Bot thar na vythr bot he 

That tholyt was that sicht to se. 80 

His handis than he held on hicht, 
And lowit God at al his mycht, 
That sic a son had til hym send, 
And prayt He suld hyme defend 
Fra alkine il, and grant that he 85 

In he seruice mycht growand be. 
Bot quhat kine wyse he God louit, 
Or hou that he his son blyssit, 
It ware ful lang here to say. 

Nocht-than, or he yed away, 90 

For God had latine hym se that sycht, 
He gaf of heretable rycht 
To Godis seruice al that ton 
Fol. 192 a. In-to fre possessione, 

And wend his way blythe and glad, 95 

For it he sa sene had ; 



71. beheld in hy. 
I 



go S. MACHOR. 

And quhen he come ham to the Quen, 

Tald al that he had herd and sene, 

That rycht blyth was of that thing, 

And yauld to God gret lowing, IOO 

And ekyt thare deuocione 

In almon ded, and oracione, 

Prayand to God ithandly, 

That He wald for His gret mercy 

Sa kepe thare child furth that he 105 

A lele seruand til Hym mycht be. 

Syne eftyre it tyd of case 
That Quen Sychen deliuerit was 
Of a knaf child, that deit rycht than 
Or men with hym to baptyme wan. 1 10 

Thane was gret dule mad and rare, 
Oure al the cunctre here and thare ; 
Bot nane sa mykil sorou mad 
As Kyng and Quen, that most cause had. 
For it is mast sorow of ane 115 

Barne to be fra the gettare sa tane. 
Nocht-thane the King hyme thocht, 
That to mak doul it gaynit nocht. 
And thane for the dynt of ded 
Agane the quhilk is na remed, 120 

Thar-for he bad to tham hyme by 
To tak the ded barne with al hy, 
Sped thaim with it for to ga 
Quhare his son is Mocumma, 
And vndir his clathis by hym lay, 125 

And quhat suld word therof assay, 
And quhen thai as he bad had don, 
The barne thai suld again bring son, 
Sa that he suld na sorow mak, 
Bot se quhat end it suld tak ; 130 

98. here and sene. 108. that quhen Sychen deliuer. 

114. as kyng and quhen. 127. has done. 



S. MACHOR. 91 

For be the sicht he had sene 

Trewly he trewit, but ony wen, 

That thru the tweching anerly 

Of Mocumma, that barne in hy 

Suld turne to lyf. And but delay, 135 

As he bad, sa did thai, 

And tuk the ded barne, that wes fare, 

And layd it by the Kingis ayre 

In credil til his nakit flesch, 

Vndir his clathis, tho it cald was. 140 

Bot men gret wondir than se mocht 

Of hyme that ded thare was brocht. 

Fra he his bruthyre twechit had, 

Fra ded to lyf he come but bad, 

And squelyt grei and raryt yarne, 145 

As kynd gaf to sic a barne. 

The gud men than that brocht hym thare, 

That had mad fyrst dule and care, 

Quhen thai saw this gret ferly, 

Ioyful thai ware, and in hy 150 

The yong barne tuk, and hame had 

To King and Quene, that ioy mad, 

Yey, mare than ma nemmyt be, 

Quhen thai thare barne lifand can se. 

Quhat confluens of yung and aid 155 

Than was thare, ma nocht be tald ; 

Na of the merwal quhat wondering ; 

Na hou to God was mad lowyng ; 

And anerly that was nocht thare, 

Bot thru the Kirk wyd-quhare. 160 

The chyld than to the kirk thai had, 

And gert it hofine be but bad, 

And it fosterit tendirly 

As his stat wald delytabli. 



147, the gud man. 



92 S. MACHOR. 

Sone eftyre a ferly fel, 165 

Alsa gret as I hard tell. 
Eftyr of tyme the process, 
Quhare Mocumma fosterit was, 
It tyd his noryse for to be 

Sitand, and had hym on hyr kne 170 

Be the fyre al hyre alane, 
For the lawe thare gat ware gane. 
And it hapnyt hyre in hy 
Oute the house to here gret cry. 
Thare-of scho gret ferly had, 175 

And for to wit quhy it was mad, 
Scho stert vpe and thare with-al 
The barne fra hyre handis can fal 
In the fyre, that was sa gret 

That nane mycht nicht it for het. 180 

Fol. 193 a. And scho that the barne saw sa 
In the fyre, had sa gret wa 
And sa abaysit cane stand, 
That scho had nothir fut na hand 
To helpe the barne, bot lud can cry. 185 

Yet the barne stil can ly, 
Ay kepand it sa godis grace, 
That in the fyr vnbrynt it was. 
Thane raryt scho loud, and raf hir hare, 
And beft hyre-self and mad sic care, 190 

That of hyre wit scho yed nere wod, 
For sorow of that frely fud, 
Eftyre help criand ithanly, 
Til at the last thare com in hy 
Ful fele that herd hir mak sic care, 195 

And fand the barne yet lyand thare, 
And hynt it out, and syne it fand 
As in the credil it ware lyand. 
And sum saw angelis ay repare, 

189. thane rayrt. 195. that gert hir. 



S. MACHOR. 93 

That it kepit elyk fare 200 

Fra wemmynge of the fyr sa brath, 

Othir in body or in clath. 

Thane gert thai the bellis ryng, 

And "Te Deum Laudamus" syng, 

And lowit God increly, 205 

That had kyd sic ferly, 

And schewit thare sa mykil mycht 

In that yung barne til al thar sycht, 

Gerrand that elyment that He 

Had gert obeysand til hym be. .210 

Ane vthyr als befel, 
That this nuryse I of tel 
Forgetil of the mykil wath, 
That tyd the barne foroutyn skath, 
Ane erand had to do ther owt ; 215 

Bot for scho of the barne had dout 
To lewe it in the house alane ; 
For al vthir away ware gane. 
And in a fat that stud hyre by, 
Brad and depe, and thane dry, 220 

Weppit in clathis the barn can lay 
Ful tendirly, and yed hyre way, 
Wenand it mycht thar be stil 
Fol. 193 1. But parel, til scho come it til. 

And quhene scho hyre gat ware gan, 225 

Of the menye in come ane 

Vnwitand the barne wes thare, 

And fillyt the fat, but ony mare, 

Of watir richt vpe to the bra, 

And syne of the house can ga. 230 

Thane eftyr, the nuryse come, 

That had hyre hart out of home, 

For thochtful scho wes of the barn, 

201. wemmyne. 



94 S. MACHOR. 

And to the fat sped hyre yarne, 
And fand it fillit to the bra. 235 

It wes na were than scho wes wa. 
Than the man callif scho the fat can fil, 
And speryt quhare put he the barn til, 
That in the grond of the fat lay. 
And he schortly til hyre can say, 240 

That he wist nocht of that barn, 
But hopyt wele it was forfarn 
Gyf scho lad it thare ; for he, 
Vnwittand it thare suld be, 

Fillyt the fat and held his way. 245 

Quhen scho hard hym soget say, 
Scho rugyt of hyre hed the hare, 
And squelit fast, and hie can rare, 
And with hyre handis skartyt hir face, 
And al the lawe that nakit wes, 250 

And with hyr newis reft hir brest, 
Al that scho mycht wyne to nest, 
And callit hyre-self ful pytisly 
Of wrech that sa reklesly, 

That in hyre fawt sic a barne 255 

The tothyr tyme yet sa forfarne, 
And for that knawine wes hir gylty 
To man and God Almychty. 
Thane ruschit men to spere 

The cause quhy scho mad sic bere. 260 

And quhen thai the manere wist, 
The fat thai tyd don but mare fryst, 
And fand the barne hale and fere, 
As watir neuir had nychd it nere, 
Bot als dry it was sene 265 

As in the credil it had bene. 
Bot angelis, as thai did before, 
Fol. 194 a. It kepit thane, myne no mare, 

245. and held is way. 248. and squelit fat. 262. fyrst. 



S. MACHOR. 



95 



Fra wath of watir quhare it lay, 

As in the fyre befor did thai ; 270 

For He that quyk sawit Moyses 

In the watir quhen he put was, 

Had defendit this barne here, 

That lyk was to be in gret were. 

Quhat is thare mare to say, but than 275 

Ful ioyful wes mony man. 

And mykil lowyng wes than mad 

To God of hewine, that sa gret had 

Merwale in that barne sa kyd, 

Quhen it was in the watir hyd. 280 

Thane was the nuryse for ioy gretand, 

Quhen scho hyre fostir-sowne fand. 

Lord Crist thir werkis are Thine, 

That this gerris Thi halowis schyne 

Be merwalis and vertuise sere, 285 

The quhilkis thai wrocht til thai were 

Her lifand ! and lowyng to The be 

A God in Personis thre ! 

Of this barne this wes begynnyng 
For to grew in hewynly thing, 290 

For ferlys that fare ware and sere, 
As ye sume part herd has here. 
And aye in body as he grew, 
He grew in vertu fare inuch. 

And fra he cuth spek grathly, 295 

He wes set to the schole in hy, 
And thare in his begynnyng leyryt 
Sic as til yung.men afferyt, 
In gud thowis to haf delyt, 

And in vertuyse to be parfyt. 300 

And quhen he come to rypare eld, 
That he mycht hymself yeld, 

273. has defendit. 276. ful woful. 285. sare. 



96 S. MACHOR. 

He sat his hart one heare thing 
To her and haf vndirstanding. 
And quhat his hart printyt within, 3°5 

He held wele, and fled ay syne. 
And be he com to sewine yere, 
He cuth langage spek sere, 
And vndirstand tham rycht wele, 
God had hyme send sa gret cele. 310 

And als of that eld was he 
Fol. 194 b. Lik to a formulare to be, 

Of quham men suld behold the ded, 

That God honoure wald and dred, 

And thare-with hou thai suld be 315 

To thare nychtboure in cheryte. 

In the land that tym than was 
A man that schane of halynes, 
And led his lyf but ony blame. 
For-thi of hyme fere ran the nam — 320 

Sa fare that the forsad Kyng, 
Was wytryt wele of his lyfyng, 
And that he he come of kingis kyne, 
Sic as wes Irland withine, 

And Columbe had to his name, 325 

A man that was but ony blam. 
Sic request he hym than mad, 
That he come til hym but abad. 
The Kyng than with hym tretit sa 
That he tuk with hym Mocumba, 330 

For til enforme fyrst, and lere 
In vertuse and in science sere. 

And he that abil was and yyng, 
Folouyt his mastir in al thing, 
And wald consawe ful sutelly 335 

309. and vndirstanand. 316. nytboure. 317. n the land. 321. kynk. 



S. MACHOR. 97 

Quhateuire he taucht in til hy, 
And in his hart wele held it, 
Ay retentywe he had a wyt, 
And had hym in sic degre 

That his ourmen be sutelte 340 

And les than he in gret meknes, 
He wald ourecume. And neuirtheles 
He kepyt ay his innocens 
Of al man but offens. 

And growand ay furth he wes 345 

In vertu and in gudnes. 
And for he doutyt for to fal, 
Til abstinens he gef him al, 
And held his flesch vndirlout, 
For died it suld worth stout 350 

A-gane the saul, and ger hym syne, 
And let hym hewins blis to wyn, 
And gef hyme to prayere and wak, 
Hyme to God seruand to mak. 
And God his hart able ay mad 355 

To lere that he wald but bad, 
Fol. 195 a. So that of thre moneth the space 
All warldis wit, be Godis grace, 
And service als of Haly Kyrk, 
He leryt al, and wes nocht irk. 360 

And hereof suld na man ferly, 
Gyf he consyderit suthfastly 
That quhare the Holy Gast will be 
Mastir, but dyffyculte 

He ma gere man consawe althing, 365 

But bysynes or trawalyng, 
As of Salamon we red, 
That was the wysest man but dred, 
Within the space of a nycht, 
Of al that wit he gat the slycht, 370 

337. weld held It. 353. and to wak. 



98 S. MACHOR. 

Thru threching of the Haly Gast, 
That is best mastir in til hast. 
For to God as we ma se 
Nathing may inpossible be. 

Thane fra Sanct Colme had persawing 375 

How clerly Godis grace can schyne 
In Mocumma be syndry thingis sere, 
That in hyme he saw apere, 
Til his disciplis sad of hyme : 
" Yone man that schenis as a yeme, 380 

" I ame nocht dingne to lere trewly, 
" Fore angelis oft tyme sen haf I 
" Repare til hyme and kene hyme al 
" That he wald lere, gret and smal, 
" And namely hou he Haly Wryt 385 

" Sal vndirstand and expond it." 
Quhen thai herd this, thai had inwy 
Agane Mocumma, fellouny 
And dyspyt, because that he 
Wes lowit in that degre. 390 

Bot Sanct Colme, that thare enwy 
Persawit and thare fellouny, 
Lowit Mocumma fere the mare, 
And honouryt hym than he did are, 
And oft with hyme held carpying 395 

Of lestand lyf and hevynly thing, 
And wald him schaw al priwete 
That in his thocht consawit he. 
Nocht be the thocht Mocumma 
Wist his mastir lufit hym sa 400 

As he be sere assay can fele ; 
Yet pridyt he hyme nocht a dele, 



382. of tyme. 385. the haly wryt. 394. he did thare. 

395. of with. 399. thi thocht. 



S. MACHOR. 99 

Bot the sammyne humylyte 
Fol. i9s *• He had befor, ay kepyt he 

In honest conuersacione 405 

And stratnes of relygione. 
For-thi the grace of God grew ay 
In hyme bath nicht and day. 

Than rane the fame of hym rycht wyd, 
In all Irland, in al syd. 410 

Ful gret ioy Sancte Colme than mad, 
That he sic a discipil gottine had ; 
And Mocumma was rycht glad, 
That he sic a mastir had. 

And for thare cause that sa haly ware, 415 

Men come to tham of landis fare, 
Til haf thare informacione, 
And alsa for thare benyson. 
And yet come foreowt ma 

Thane to Sanct Columbe to Sanct Mocumma ; 420 
For ferly thai had, that he, 
In sa schort tyme, suld haly be, 
Bryngand hyme gyftis fare and gret, 
As for his clething and his met. 
Bot thereof he wald nocht ; 425 

For he by warldis gud set nocht, 
And namely for his fadir sak. 
Bot thareof wald he nocht tak. 

And for he wald nocht knawyn be 
With the men of his cunctre, 430 

He determyt in his thocht, 
That dwel thare langare wald he nocht, 
Bot pass in vnchut land but bad, 
Quhar na man knawlag of hym had. 



409. than thane. 433. bot passyt. 



ioo S. MAC H OR. 

And sa to do that, he his wil 435 

Set, sad his Maistere til, 
That of his purpos wes blyth. 
Fore-thi he sad til hyme alswith : 
" Der son, in Crist I lowe God ay, 
" That He has leryt thus to say ; 440 

" For it that thu has sad me til 
" Of ful parfyt men is the wil. 
" And now, dere son, I sal tel the 
" Al vtrely myn priwete ; 

" That is, that myn wil has ben ay 445 

" Of myn kith to pass my way, 
" Withthi that I had the wil 
" Of thi kyne and myn thare til. 
" Bot for thi kyne I lettyt mare 
Fol. 196 a. " That, gyf thu sa dide, wald haf care ; 450 

" For thu thare suffrant ioy is now. 
" Tharefor, wil thu myn consal trew, 
" Thu wyne thare gud lufe and lewe — 
" For sagat ma we best eschewe — 
" And that done cum agane me til. 455 

" Thane ma we pase quhareeuir we wil." 
The yung man said : " Ser, I haf nane 
" Fadir now bot God alane, 
" Fore Quham fadir and modir bath 
" I wil forsak to thaim be lath ; 460 

" For thu nixt God is my fadir, 
" And Haly Kyrk is my modir. 
" For-thi I wil lewe be na wyse 
" Thi cumpany na thi seruice. 
" Fore quhare thu gays, wil I ga, 465 

" Til ded tak ane of ws twa." 
His mastir than gret ferly had, 
And in his hart gret ioy he mad, 



440. that he had. 



S. MACHOR. 101 

Quhene he the gret deuocione 

Of hyme herd and the perfeccione. 470 

Thane sad he : " Son, til thu in yuthad 

" Was stad, a barnis nam thou had, 

" Bot for thu yuthad has warpyst 

" And is parfyt man in Cryst, 

" Thu sal be callyt Machore, 475 

" And lewe the name thu had before." 

Sanct Colme gert thane aparel 
A bat sture with wetale, 
And sped hyme to the se but mare 
With al that wald with hym fare, 480 

His ferme hope in Hyme setand 
That has to stere bath se and land. 
Thane Machore fyrst in the bat wan, 
And reprowyt the mastir man 
Of his tary and his slawnes, 485 

That he to saile sa lethand wes. 
Than, helpand God, thai saylyt a quhyle, 
Til thai come nere the ile 
Of Iy, and thare saile strak, 

And thare thocht land to tak. 490 

Ane Melluma in that sythware 
Come to the se, and saw thame thare, 
And knew Sanct Colme, and wes blyth, 
And at hym speryt alswyth, 
Gyf he one land wald be. 495 

And he sad : " Ya." Thane in the se 
Fol. 196 b. The carle wod to the bat but bad, 

And to the land quhen he thame had, 
Thane sad Sancte Colme : " Ar we al here ? " 
Sad Melluma : " Ya, now ser." 500 

Sanct Colme gert thame cum hym before, 
To se, and myssit Sancte Machore, 

490. Thane thare. 



102 S. MACHOR. 

That yet in his prayere lay. 

Sancte Colme than to the carle can say : 

" Yet wantis ane and is mare 5°S 

" With god of hewine than we al are." 

Thane passit the carle and sperit, gyf he 

To the land dry borne wald be. 

" Ya," sad he ; and but mare 

Dry to the land he hym bare. 5 10 

Thane Colme of his cummyn wes blyth, 

And athyre kyssyt vthyre swyth, 

And recommendyt gretumly 

Of vertuse lyf and of haly. 

Thane sad Sancte Colme: "Bruther, blissit be 515 

" This place ; and pray to God that He 

" Send His angel to blyse it, 

" Sene we to cum here is hapnyt." 

And as he sad, quhen thai had done, 

Oure al the ile thai passit sone, 520 

And fand it rycht profytable, 

And to duel in gud and abile. 

And out of Irland in a quhyle 

Men may wele sayle in that ile. 

And as thai socht had the place, 525 

Thai fand quhare a fare sted was, 

Enhournyt with treis sere, 

And spryngand wellis fare and clere. 

Thane sad Sancte Colme, he wald thare, 

Duel, and pas na forthyr mare. 530 

A mansione than fyrst thai mad 

To Sancte Colme and but bad. 

And syne a mansione sufficiandly 

Thai mad to Sancte Machore in hy. 

And til al the lawe thai wrocht 535 

Placis til indwel as thai rycht thocht. 

Sancte Colme duelt tharein thane 

As Abot and haly mane. 



S. MACHOR. 103 

Syne thai saw ane vthire ile, 
That thai mocht saile to in a quhile, 540 

That Mule hycht ; and thare to preche, 
And Cristine folk als to teche, 
Sancte Colme send his dyscypil here 
Sancte Machore, that wes hym nere. 
Fol. 197 a. The quhilk, as he com in that land, 545 

Sewin myssale vgly he fand, 
At askyt of hyme sum thing 
Of cheryte and his blyssyng. 
In Godis name he bad tham pase 
To sum watir that by was, 55° 

And wesch thame. And sa dyd thai, 
And gat thare hele but delay. 
And as thai clene ware, with a stewine, 
Machore thai lowyt and God of hewine. 

And quhen he thare had ben a quhile 555 

And prechyt oure al the Ewangel, 
He come to the ile of Iy, 
Til his mastir, and wes besy 
To study into Haly Wryt, 

And oft time put it to wryt. 560 

And as he a nycht cane wryt, 
A thing quharein he had delyt, 
Before the end of it he mad, 
The lyt hym falyet ; and than he had 
Ferme hope in God of hewine, 565 

One his fyngyre end blew ewine, 
That as a candil brynnand lycht, 
And til done he had gef hym sycht. 
And sa hapnyt that sythware, 
A lytil barne for til be thare, 570 

And saw hou this ferly fel, 
And to the eommon cuth it tel. 

547. And askyt; 563, of it mad. 



104 S. MACHOR. 

Than had thai fare mare il wil 
Thane befor Sancte Machore til ; 
Namely for thai micht nocht 575 

Sic merwalis wyrk as he wrocht. 
Syne as il men tuk to rede 
Nedly for til haf hyme dede ; 
Bot for thai durst nocht opynly 
For his mastir do sic foly, 580 

Thai, to fulfil thare entent, 
Poysone with ane innocent, 
Say he suld the les it think, 
Thai send hyme, myngyt into drink. 
Sancte Machore sperit at the barne, 585 

Quha the drink send hym rycht yarne ; 
And he sad hyme the suth hale. 
Thane wyst Sancte Machore be his tale, 
That in that drynk wes felloun gyle. 
Yet thane he tuk it, and cane smyle, 590 

Fol. 197 *. And sad : " Thar is brethyre fals, 
" And fra cheryte ful fare als, 
" That me of this warld wald bryng, 
" That neuire myse did tham in ony thing ; 
" And now war ful gud to me 595 

" To be vysit, and with God sene be, 
" And as God wil, sa mot it be." 
With that the cop in hand tuk he, 
And sanyt it dewotly. 

Thare mycht men se a gret ferly, 600 

Hou the cop he heldit done, 
And al that was fel poyssone 
Fel of the cope, and hou the lafe 
Thareof to the cop clafe. 

Syne that lycure he drank thare 605 

But felyng of ony sare. 



583. say thai suld. 



S. MACHOR. 105 

The chyld syne tald tham that hym send, 

As he saw fra end to end. 

Thane Sancte Machore prayt hartly 

God to forgyf thaim that foly. 610 

And as thai herd sik tything 

Of that barne of that ferly thyng, 

Thai ware inflammyt of the fyre 

Of inwy than ; and in gret yre 

To thare Maistere but delay 615 

Come, and thusgat can say : 

" Machore gerris men be sorcery 

" Trow he dowis merakile opynly, 

" And sympil men into thare sycht 

" Dissawis thru the dewylis mycht, 620 

" And is contrare til ws ay ; 

" For-thi, suthly, Ser, we say, 

" That we wil hale lef the, 

" And he langere with the be. 

" For-thi chese quhethyr thu wil 625 

" Gyf ws oure lewe or hald hym stil." 

And thare Mastir herand how thai 
Sa spanly this tale can say, 
He was in perplexyte, 

Seand hou ane behowit to be, 630 

Othire to do away in haste 
His printyce that he lufyt mast, 
Ore thaim that he had fosteryt ay, 
Fra youthed to that day. 

He prayt thame to hald thaim stil, 635 

And he suld syne ouretak ther wil. 
Thane he kyst in his thocht 
Fol. 198 a. In that case he best do mocht, 
Makand asyth to thame bath. 
And for to kepe Machore of skath, 640 

616. thus gad. 618. trowis he dowis. 628. spaly. 639. makand a syth. 

K 



106 S. MACHOR. 

Thocht he wald with wilis dele 
For sawete of thame and thare hele. 
Sancte Machore he callyt a day, 
And til hyme thusgat cane say : 

" My dere bruthyre, in priwete 645 

" I haf for to say to the. 
" And fyrst, I pray the thu wil 
" Be na way tak in til il. 
" Bruthyre, thu wat that quhyle 
" Ihesu sad, in the Ewangyle, 650 

" ' Quha lufis his saule mare than Me 
" ' Ma be na way My serwand be,' 
" And til His printyse can He say : 
" ' Passis thru the warld oure way 
" ' And til al men the Ewangelis teche 655 

*' ' And to tak baptysme thame preche.' 
" Hou ma we thane this word fulfil, 
" That in a nuk here lyis stil, 
" And bot of oureself thinkis nocht, 
" And of sawle hele na thing wrocht 660 

" Of fele folk that wydquhare 
" In fawt of techyng tynt are ; 
" And namely sene we haf mycht 
" Of body and of science slycht ? 
" Ryse we, tharefor, and dress ws til 665 

" Godis bydyng to fulfil. 
" And for my eld, as thu ma se, 
" To lyf in quyet accordis me, 
" And for thu yongare is thane I, 
" Scharpare of wyt and mare mychtty, 670 

" In Godis name thu tak one hand 
" To pass into fere land, 
" And preche Godis word alquhare 
" To thame at in wanetreutht are, 
" And press the bysyly for to wyne 675 

" Thare sawlis that lyis in syne." 

643. saincte. 



S. MAC H OR. 107 

Sanct Machore sad : " Mastir dere, 
" Gud is I do as ye me lere, 
" For youre prayere and youre consele ; 
" For that to me ma mast awale." 680 

Quod he : " With myn oracione, 
" Mad hartly with deuocione, 
" I sal helpe the but fenyeyng, 
" And help the in al vthyre thyng. 
Fol. 198 6. " Eftyr my possybilyte, 685 

" Dere sone, I sal helpe the." 

Sewine mene thane he taucht hym til, 
To serwe hyme and to do his wyl ; 
And byschape staf gef hym alsa, 
And belt, and of his clathis twa, 690 

And bukis, that ware necessare 
To hyme to prech godis lare, 
And ordenyt hyme a galay, 
And wytale tharein gert he lay. 
And thus to mak quyet and pece 695 

Of it he wyst fellouny wes. 
Tharefor, as Machore was redy 
To pas the se, Sancte Colme in hy 
Gert al his printeyss cum before 
Hyme in absence of Sancte Machore, 700 

And sad to thame ; " Sonnis dere, 
" I haf you fosteryt mony yere, 
" And wat, gyf ye wil one meyne, 
" That I alway has besy bene 
" Til infourme yu in cheryte, 705 

" And in sawle-hele thochty to be. 
" And for youre hartis ar herd as flynt, 
" I haf myn trawale tynt, 
" For in youre hartis ye had ithandly 
" At yone haly man ay inwy, 710 

708. and ek I. 709. that yone. 



ioS S. MACHO R. 

" And ye ware bowne ay to do il 
" Til hyme that neuir mysdid yu til." 
Quhen he had this sad and mare, 
Thane thai repentyt tham sare 
It that thai had don before 7*5 

Agane cheryte to Sancte Machore, 
And sad : " Fadyr, wele wat we 
" We haf mysdone in that degre ; 
" Bot now reconsel ws hyme til, 
" And now ws get his gud wil." 720 

Sancte Colme thane, that besy was 
Betwene thame for to mak pece, 
Callyt Machore and tretyt sa, 
That he betwene thaym pes can ma. 
Sancte Machore than his lewe tuk rath 725 

At mastir and at brethyre bath, 
That with hyme to the se can pas, 
Repentand thame of thare trespas ; 
And of now lewe has tane, 

And kyssyt thame euire ilkane. 730 

His maister thane and he mad wa 
That thame worthyt part in twa, 
And kyssyt oft at thare partyng 
With regrat and with gretyng, 
Fol. 199 «. And ilkane cane uthyre blyse 735 

With wordis of gret teyndirnes. 

Thane to the galay went Machore — 
And Sancte Colme quhare he was before — 
And helpand God, saylyt the se 
But distrowbylance in dais thre 740 

And ewine north in Scotland 
Arywyt, quhare thai fand dwelland 
A Cristine man that Farcare hycht, 
That ryches had and mykil mycht, 

726, and that brethyre. 733. oft that thare partyng. 740. distrowlylance. 



S. MACHOR. 109 

That prayt thame for to say, 745 

Quhen thai come and quhat ware thai. 

And thai sad hyme the suth alswith. 

Thane wes this Farcare ferly blyth, 

Quhen he sen had Sancte Machor ; 

For he hard spek of hyme befor, 750 

And because of his renowne, 

This Farcare had hym til his towne, 

And al that nedful til hyme was, 

Gert get til hyme mare and les, 

Thankand God abeowe the lawe 755 

That he wes worthy sic gest til haf ; 

For he in schort tym gert hyme be 

Parfyt in double cheryte ; 

That is to say, with God and mane. 

And tharewith his luf he wane, 760 

That he sad till hyme : " Fadir dere, 

" Lo ! al thir landis are myne here 

" And is my herytag al. 

" Forthi this place tak thu sal, 

" To mak quhare-euire thu wil a place. 765 

" And gyf ony of myn ofspryng, percase, 

" Ganesais it, waryt mot he, 

" Til he thole the bruk it fre." 

Sancte Machore thane thankfully 

His gyft tuk, and al the place by 77° 

Socht to and fra, til he fand 

A sted til hyme wes gannand, 

Besyd a watyr bank, that rane 

Into the se, and lyk was thane 

As it a byschopis staf had bene. 775 

And fra Sancte Machore had it sene, 

Til his disciplis can he say : 

" Lo ! here myn dwelling place for ay, 



752. hed hym. 757. scort tym. 762. this landis. 763. hs my. 

764. thus place. 766. ospryng. 768. brukyt fre. 777. can say. 



no S. MACHOR. 

" For my master to me cane tel, 
" That I in sik a place suld dwel." 780 

Thane gert he bygyne thare be mad 
Til hym as he mystere had. 
And syne til al the lawe gert he 
Fol. 199 i. Bygyng mak in thare degre. 

And eftyr that he gert wyrk 785 

Be craftly men a costlyk kyrk, 

And that men callis yet, 

" Of Sancte Machore the seg ore set." 

Ser warkmen syne on a day, 
That had gret thryst, can til hym sa : 790 

" Dere fadir, wit ye quhen we swink, 
" That we haf gret fawt of drynk. 
" Help us, tharefor, gyf ye may." 
Thane Sancte Machore but delay 
Gat gud watere in fusione, 795 

At servis yet til al the towne, 
And springis yet as it did thane, 
At prayere of that haly man. 
And fele that of that watir drank 
Gat hele, and hartly God can thank. 800 

That was the fyrst merwal that he 
Wrocht, that quhen men mycht se. 
That now the name has Scotland, 
Bot Pychtis thane in it ware duelland. 
Thane come til hym of placis sere 805 

Mony printeise that redy were, 
Til vndirly his dyscypline, 
And fore to tak of hyme teching. 

Thane duelt a mane nere by, 
Relygiouse and rycht haly, 810 

That to name had Dewynik, 

780. sik place. 787. men callyl. 796. and seruis. 802. that quhen that men. 



S. MACHOR. in 

That Godis yok bare on his nek, 
And to Sancte Machore com a day, 
And til hyme this he can say : 
" Gud Ser, behald, and thu ma se, 815 

" Hou fele folk in this cunctre 
" Are yet habandonyt mony wise 
" * To mak till mawmeotis seruice, 
" And thus have nerhand nan to schaw 
" Goddis word, or ger men knaw 820 

" The nerrest get till hewynis blis. 
" Forthi, Master, my consall is, 
" That thu in this cunctre duell still, 
" Goddis Wangel for to preche till 
Fol. 200 a. " Thir Pictis, at are lath to trew ; 825 

" And I with Goddis helpe will now 
" To thame of Catnes but mare gang, 
" That Cristine treutht is myskennand lang, 
" Amang thaim Goddis vord to schaw, 
" To ger thaim God parfitly knaw." 830 

Sanct Machor sad : " That quhethir na we 
" Sal ilkane vthire eftire se ? " 
And he sad : " Yhis, yeit forow Criste 
" Ve sal eft met in His bewiste, 
" And bruk vith Hym ay lestand bliss. 835 

" Bot, dere Fadir, I pray the this, 
" Ffor ded nerhand abidis me, 
" To tak, fra I be gane fra the, 
" That thu wald, eftyr I be dede, 
" Ger bring my body to this stede, 840 

" And ger it grawine be, quhar I 
" Had mad my duelling ithandly." 
And he heicht hym he suld do swa. 
Atheris thar lewe with that can ta, 
And Dewenik can to Catnes pass, 845 

* Handwriting changes. 
820. ger is corrected from her. 825. thus pontis. 836. I pray the thus. 



ii2 S. MACHOR. 

To folk that than wntreuthtfull wass, 

And sped sa weile in schort tym thare, 

That thaira parfit in Godis lare 

He mad. Bot yet than Sanct Machor 

Ffurth preichit as he did befor 850 

The Pyctis, and swa sped that he 

Gert mast part of thaim cristnit be ; 

And namely he gert master men 

Trew, that wntreuthfull war to than, 

Bath thru the lare he can thaim lere 855 

And thru schauyng of merwalis sere ; 

And thar templis distroyt wydquhare, 

And ydolis that into thaim ware. 

And thusgat lang tym trawalyt he 

Of Goddis corne wynnare to be. 860 

Syne tyd one a tym to gang 
Apone the feild his corne y mange, 
And saw a bare mekill and gret 
Defoull the corne with feit, and ete, 
And do gret skath. And thane sad he : 865 

" In Goddis name I commawnd the, 
" That thu in that sted stand still." 
And onone Sancte Machor com hym till, 
And strak hym with his staif onane, 
Fol. 300 *. And he sowne turnyt till a stane, 870 

And in that schape sa standis he 
A yard-stane, as men yeit ma se. 

Syne Machor com into a place, 
And saw a man that mykill vas, 
And in that cuntre duelling mad, 875 

And to his richt name Dinon had, 
And was payeme, and richt crafty 
In fendis warkis and sorcery. 

851. the poyntis. 



S. MACHOR. 113 

And he wald oftymys ger men ven, 

That sewine hedis on hym had ben. 880 

And quhen Sanct Machor sen hym had, 

He ferlyt first, and syn but bad 

A psalme he sad, begynnand thus 

Of Scriptur : " Exurgat Deus ; " 

And or he of that psalme mad end, 885 

Thru Goddis mycht, it was wel kend 

That he na hedis had but ane. 

Fforthi that tyrand or he fane 

Of Sanct Machor fell to the fet, 

And for his synnis sare can gret, 890 

Prayand hym for Goddis sonnis sak, 

That he wald Cristine man hym mak. 

And he sad hyme, withthi that he 

Wald lewe his sorcery, and be 

Gud Cristine man, and Cristine fay 895 

Ffra thinefurth treuli kep alvay ; 

Anentis God he suld hym wyne 

Fforgiffines of his mykill syne. 

And he hicht that with full gud will 

All haill his byding till fulfill. 900 

And Sanct Machor gert hym richt than 

Resawe baptym, and swa hym wane, 

And tacht hym weill in Cristine fay, 

And leit hym syne pas hyne his vay. 

Ane vthir tym Sanct Machor yed 905 

Perchand and sawand Godis sed, 
Men brocht a man that was blind borne, 
And seit hym Sanct Machor beforne, 
And prayt hym fulfare that he 
Thru his prayere wald gere hym se. 910 

And he that reucht ay in hert had, 
Tuk wattir and blissit it but bad, 

890. his sonnis. 901. nocht than. 



ii4 S. MACHOR. 

And thare with all ennoyntit richt than 
Fol. 201 a. Oure corce the eyne of that blind man, 

And sad till hyme : " Luk vpe and se." 915 

And as he bad, richt swa did he, 

And saw als clerly allkine thinge, 

As he of sicht had neuir merring. 

And he that na tyme saw befor, 

Saw than, and lowyt Sanct Machor, 920 

Quham thru, the sicht God swa hym gefe. 

And one the same did the laiffe, 

That saw or herd this gret ferly, 

Yauld thank to God full increly. 

Ane vthir tym as he can stand, 925 

Goddis word to folk perchand, 
That stud about hym invirroune, 
Men brocht a dede cors ovt of tovne, 
And lad it done befor his feite 
With lamentacion and greite. 930 

And Synchenus to name he had. 
Sanct Machor than speryt but bad, 
Quhen that he was, or of quhat kin. 
And thai per ordir tald till hyme, 
And als that he of kine was nere 935 

To gud Sanct Colme, to God sa dere. 
And fra Sanct Machor that herd tell, 
Apon his kneis sone he fel, 
And prayt till God one sic a wyse, 
That at dede man lof and cane ryse. 940 

And swa with prooffof mychtfull dede 
He strinthit alway Godis sede. 
And ferleis wrocht he than sa feile, 
That he mad mony payene leile ; 



919. na styme. 930. lamentacon. 



S. MACHOR. n S 

Ffor he to thaim was sic myrroure, 945 

That he gert thaim leif thare erroure. 
God grant ws grace that we do swa 
Out of this lyff or that we ga. 

Off this Sanct Machor the fame rane 
Thru sere land, til full mony man 950 

Of ferleis that thru hym God wrocht. 
Ffor that of syndry landis men hym socht 
Ffor to purches his benysone, 
And haf of hyme instruccione. 
Amang vthire, twa of Irland 955 

That herd tell of hym tythand, 
And yung, sum dele letteryt ware, 
Till hyme sa besely can spere, 
Fol. 201 6. And socht sa long til thai hym fand, 

Quhare I sad are into Scotland, p6o 

Yarnand till haf instruccion 

Of hyme and informacione, 

And how thai suld Haly Wryt 

Vndirstand, and vndo it. 

And he resawit thame full weile, 965 

And all thare yarnyng ilke dele 

He tyd thame, and full sobirly 

Enformyt thaim full parfytly 

Of Cristine treutht, of lyf at sail 

Ay laste, and of sawle-heile withall, 970 

And mony vthir spedfull thing. 

Bot he in thame ruit his teching ; 

Ffor, fra that thai thare leif had tan, 

Thai na tyme for to scorne hym fane ; 

And his lare and amonesting, 975 

Thai sad, was richt nocht but hething, 

And tharwith callit hym "ypocryt." 

Bot tham reuengit was full tyt ; 

965. thamme. 969. lyf & sail. 972. his techig. 976. but hethig. 977. ypocriyt. 



n6 S. MACHOR. 

Ffor nocht fere thine in till a sted 

Suddanly thai ware all deide, 980 

And schot in till gong stinkand, 

Quhar nan of freyndis thaim fand. 

It hapnyt a tym into ware, 
Quhill Sanct Machor was duelland ther, 
That he for faut of weile tyd land, 985 

Gert teile a mekill feild of land ; 
And, thocht it was leyne and dry, 
He socht to saw thare bere and ry, 
In Goddis larges assouerand, 

That it suld grow weile in that land. 990 

Nocht-thane his seruandis had ferly, 
That he gert teile aid land and dry, 
And namly for thai west but dred, 
To saw that land, he had no sede. 
Than he sad to thaim that swa thocht : 995 

" God is mychty to helpe, dred nocht, 
" Quhar man na liklines ma se." 
To twa of his prenteis sad he : 
" Hald youre gat to my lord Ternane ; 
" Sa hym for sede haf I nane, 1000 

" Quhar-with my feilde that I saw may, 
" Hym into sic distres I pray, 
" At he at this tym wald help me 
" Of his seide with sic quantite." * 

Fol. 202 a. That a gret bane of it rycht tyt 1005 

Intil his throit clewit sa faste, 
That he to de was sare agaste ; 
For he mycht swely it for na slicht ; 
Na out till put it had na mycht. 
Than was that wrache wondir wa, » 1010 

Persawand weile he was sted swa ; 

984. duellend. * The next leaf is wanting. 



S. MACHOR. 117 

For he tholit in till that houre 

Lyk to the dede mony herd schure. 

And alswa had he schame to tell 

Quhy he that fische to the tend fell, 1015 

For his delit had etene thane, 

That acht was to that haly man. 

Yeit than with quaquand voice sad he 

To thaim that vare his maste priwe : 

" To me that sted is in this wath, 1020 

" Yhone Goddis man ye bring me rath ; 

" For I will grant hym but delay, 

" The thing quharfor he can me pray." 

His mengye than foroutine more 

Passit, and brocht hym Sanct Machor, 1025 

Fra quham he askit forgewine, 

At he had nytit hym his askine ; 

And tharfor mekly prayt he 

That he wald of his pitte. 

And that erth that he askit hade, 1030 

He gaf hym thare but langer bade. 

Sanct Machor blissit hym one ane. 

Out of his hals than lape the bane, 

And he mad haile als smertly wes, 

As man that neuir weste of seknes. 1035 

Sanct Machor than mesuryt the place, 
That lang and brad and richt plan was, 
And in a litill tym gert wirk 
Of treis fare a cumly kirk. 

And quhasa reddis thus ma see 1040 

How besy that gudmen suld be 
For till obeis in althing 
Of haly men to the bidding, 
And namly ane one alkine wise 
Quhar it twechis Godis seruice. 1045 

1019. is mast priwe. 1027. and he had. 1044. and manly and one. 



n8 S. MACHOR. 

For, lo, he that litill before 
Mad rud answere to Sancte Machor, 
Thru priyd and awaris gredy, 
And Godis man dispituisly 
Fol. 202 b. Fra his presens chasit away, 1050 

Is now ful fayne hym for to pray, 
And spek ful reuerendly hyme till, 
And als to grant hym al his will. 
This is litill of it we rede 

Of Sanct Machor his mykill dede, 1055 

And of the merwalis that he wrocht 
To Pectis land, fra that he socht ; 
For I can nocht the teynd part tell 
Of gret ferleis that thru hym fell. 
Bot gyf that I say suthfastly, 1060 

It was nocht thru hyme anerly, 
Bot God was the mychty Makare, 
And Sanct Machor the furth-schewere. 

Sanct Machor than set all his wit 
To cun parfitly Haly Writ, 1065 

Thocht that he thar parfit was 
Thru plentwis gyft of Goddis grace. 
In till his study sait a day 
Quhen ane com, and can till hym say : 
" Syre, Sanct Ternane, the byschepe, nere 1070 
" Is cumyne to spek with you here, 
" And of his clerkis gret party." 
Sanct Machor than with gret hy 
Left the study and the buk, 

And of his clerkis with hyme tuk, 1075 

And met Sanct Ternane reuerendly, 
And halist hyme and his cumpany, 
And he hailist hyme aganes his. 
Thane can athir wthire kis. 

1055. sant machor. 1078. and he hailsit. 



S. MACHOR. 119 

And Sanct Machor till his herbry 1080 

Sanct Temane leid full reuerendly. 
And firste in kirk enterit thai bath, 
And to thare vrisone went rath. 
And syne thai blissit athir wthire, 
The bischope first, and syn the tothire. 1085 

Syne, eftire all the cumpany 
Fol. 203 a. Had kissit entrechangeably, 

And he than thame resawit had, 

A schort sermone full wisly mad 

Of paciens and cherite, 1090 

Recommendand humilite. 

Syne eftire, as the custum was, 

He led hym quhar he suld tak ese, 

And mad hyme mery for to fare, 

And als thame all that with hyme ware. 1095 

Sanct Machor than full gret ioy made 

That he sa dere worthy gaste hade, 

And the Bischope full fane, that wane 

The knawlage of sa haly man. 

Than held thai wele lang sermonyng 1 100 

Of haly lyf and hewinlik thing, 

And till that thai sait at the burd, 

Amang thaim wes nan vthire word, 

Bot fed thaimself with gastly fud 

And gaynand drink thareto and gud. 1 105 

Thane come to thaim gret company 
Of deuot men, that encrely 
Requiryt thaim with awisment, 
That thai with Goddis iugment 
The priwete mare opynly .1 1 10 

Wald expone thaim and expresly. 
The Bischope thane wonderit was 
Of thare wnwit and simpilnes, 

1087. has kissit. 



120 S. MACHOR. 

Sad to thame : " My childere dere, 
" This demand that ye askis ws here, 1 1 1 5 

" Is a demawnd without profit ; 
" For quhat man is he sa parfyt 
" That can tell Godis priuite, 
" That be na way ma witine be. 
" Na manis wit ma strek thartill, 11 20 

" To consawe it thru kindly skill, 
" That He in till His forseyng 
" Reseruit till His awne witting. 
" And tharefor rycht gret foly is 
"To you to spere or tret of this." 1125 

Sanct Machor als at thaim can smyll, 
Sayand : " A wis man sad wmquhill, 
" ' Sek na heyere thing than yhe 
" ' Na stallowart be na degre. 

" ' For quha is Goddis wit ma knaw, 1 130 

" ' Or yet His consall hey or law ? 
" ' For Godis priue deme ma nocht, 
" ' Na all His gattis yet be socht' 
" Forthi full gret foly it is 

"To sper that manis wit excedis, 1135 

" Or for till haf of it knawine, 
" That he ma cum to for na thing. 
" And tharfor lewe forthir to spere 
" The thing that ye ma neuir nicht nere ; 
Fol. 203 b. " For sperer of His maieste 1 140 

" Fra his ioy sail donne thrungine be." 
And all tha that this demaund mad, 
Stud thane stane still and gret scham had. 
Sone eftir this thai ras ilkane 
And lewit, to thare awne ar gane, 1 145 

And with euire common blissing 
That thai mad that haly departing. 



1120. ne manis wit. 1126. that thaim. 1136. ofitkawine. 1145. and Iewid. 



S. MACHOR. 121 

Nocht lang eftire apon a day 
To Sanct Machor a man can say, 
That Sanct Dewynnik, into Catnes, 1150 

Thru gret eilde falyeit, and ded was. 
And quhen he one his dedstra lay, 
To thaim that nest war, he can say : 
" Sene that ye se ded sail me tak, 
" I coniure you, for Godis sak, 1 155 

" That yhe for na trawall be irke 
" To bere my body to sume kirk, 
" Quharfor Sanct Machor has keping, 
" And pray hyme for the Hewynnis King 
" That he meyne one and thochtfull be 1 160 

" Of his hicht that he mad to me 
" Of his gud will, at our partyng." 
With this of spek he mad ending, 
And yaulde the gast but mare abad. 
And thai that this commawndment had 1 165 

To tak his body, war nocht irk, 
And one a bere brocht till a kirk 
That was bot litill fra that place, 
That befor to thaim lentyrid was. 

And quhen that Sanct Machor this tale 1170 
Has herd, as I haf tald you hale, 
He mad regrat and had disese. 
Bot, for he durst nocht God disples, 
That nicht but slepe all haile he lay 
In his prayere, till it wes day ; 1175 

And in that kirk with fleschely eyne 
Ful feile brycht angelis he has sene 
Fie vpe and doune, makand thaim play, 
Quharat the cors of Dewynnik lay. 
Than was Sanct Machor blyth and glad 1180 

For this fare sicht that he sene had. 



1 1 50. of sanct Machor. 
M 



122 S. MACHOR. 

And one the morne, quhen it was day, 
Till his discipulis this can say : 
" Lowe we all God, my brethir dere, 
Fol. 204 u. " That has ws send a gud gestenere. 1 185 

" Tharfor mak we ws redy tyt 
" Hyme, as afferis, to visidte, 
" And yeld till hyme forout delay 
" That office that ws acht to say 
" For worthi men, quhen thai ded are." 11 90 

With that thai passit furthmare 
To the kirk, quharat Sanct Machor 
The angelis play had sene befor. 
Bot thai that the cors brocht thiddire, 
With it had gane thar way togiddir 1 195 

Ner by of Creskane to the hill, 
And thar abad to reste in will. 
Bot Sanct Machor foroutyn freste 
Folouyt, and fand thaim thar tak reste. 
And he and his thar with thame abad, 1200 

Till thai the seruice all had mad, 
That to sic deide men suld parteyne, 
Or ony wink come in thar eyne ; 
And syne bare the cors deuotely 
Till a place callit Banchory ; 1205 

And thare solempni with honoure 
Thai grathit for it a sepulture. 
And one hym thare thai mad a kirk, 
Quhar God yeit cesis nocht to wirk 
Thru his prayere ferleis full fele, 12 10 

To sek and sar folk gyfand heile. 
Men callis that place quhar he lay 
Banchory Dewynnik til this day. 

Syne eftyr this tyme it befell 
That fra Sanct Colme, quhar he can duell 121 5 

1 184. brothir dere. 1187. as aspe afferis. 1 198. foroutyn firste. 



S. MACHOR. 123 

In Scotland, come, because that he 
As pilgerame thocht at Rome to be. 
And fra Sanct Machor had witting 
Into the land of his cumyng, 

He fane nocht, quhill he with hym met. 1220 

And athire of thame for ioy gret, 
Thai war sa fane that thai met were. 
Sanct Machor than at hym can spere, 
In pilgrimag gif he wald pas 

To Rome, as till hyme tald was. 1225 

And he sad : " Ya." And Sanct Machor 
Thane blithar wes than euir befor, 
And sad : " With your leif, faddere dere, 
" Ye sail nocht pas and lewe me here. 
Fol. 204 b. " Forthi, sire, graunt me your gud will." 1230 

And he consentit sone hyme till. 

Thane but abad thai mad thaim yare, 
And all thing that was necessare 
For thare passing thai mad redy, 
And held thare gat in cumpany. 1235 

Bot it ware langsum for to say 
The wondir that God in the way 
Wrocht for thame or thai com to Rome ; 
For thai exced all manis dowme. 
Bot at the last with swink and swet 1240 

Hiddir thai come ; and trawall gret, 
And wisit first Petir and Paule, 
Quhare pardone is and heile of saule ; 
And socht syne wthir placis sere, 
Quhar feile was to God full dere. 1245 

Of Haly Kirk the cure had tane 
A Paipe of Rome, a mastir man, 

1227. blithar than then euir. 



124 S. MACHOR. 

Gregor, that was of gret renovne, 

And of haly opunyone. 

The quhilk, quhen he had herd that thai 1250 

War cumyne thar, but mar delay 

He send for thaim full reuerendly, 

And gert thaim cum till hym in hy, 

And thame resawit as his dere, 

Richt tendirly and with gud chere. 1255 

And syne full mykill sperit he, 

The cause quhy and of sa fere cuntre 

That thai come thar. And thai alsone 

With schort spek has the cause vndone, 

Sayand : " The cause of this trawall 1 260 

" That we haf tane one hand but fale, 

" Is for to wyne lestand remede 

" Till our sawlis eftire our dede. 

" Ane wthir cause als haf we eke, 

"Petire and Paule here for to seke 1265 

" And mony wthir in this stede, 

" For Godis sake that tholit dede, 

" And for til haf youre benysone 

" And youre gud informacione." 

The Pape Sanct Machor than can call 1270 

Till hyme, and of the Pectis all 
Mad bischope for his tyme to be. 
And tharewith his name changit he, 
And callit hyme Morise, that befor 1275 

Fol. 205 a. Liang tyme to name had Machor. 
And swa as he had namys thre : 
Mocumna first in his cunctre, 
And syne Machor in-to the land 
Of Pectis quhill he was duelland. 1280 

The Pape Sanct Gregor tharwith all 
Apone a day till hyme can call, 
And informyt hym sowne and weile 



S. MACHOR. 125 

In all the office ilke deile, 

That suld parteyne to bischapis stat, 1285 

And mekly sad hyme syne this gat : 

" Lo, bruthir and in Criste sone dere, 

" Thru wescheyng of our handis here, 

" The Haly Gast has callit the 

" Of bischape to the dignite, 1 290 

" That is chosine, and to the hicht 

" Trawale that for all thi mycht 

" In Goddis wyne-yarde, for to vyne 

" Feile folk that bundine ar with syne. 

" The wark of Wangeliste thu do, 1295 

" And the office that is the to 

" Committit, fulfill ilke day, 

" And vnreprofit kepe the ay, 

" And gaynand and vnchangeabli 

" As thu se ned is, thu chasty, 1 300 

"In pacience argw and pray, 

" And in doctrine be besy ay." 

And quhen the Pape one this kine wise 
Had weile informyt Sanct Morise, 
And blissit hyme and Sanct Colme bath, 1305 
Thai tuk thair leif, and sped thaim rath 
Towart thar cunctre for to gang. 
And one thar way trawalit sa lang, 
And ythandly or thai wald fyne, 
Till thai come quhar Sanct Martyne 13 10 

Lyis — ware cumyne apon chaunce 
To Torone, to the tovne of France. 
And thare the bischope of that stede 
Vith his clergy met thaim, and leide 
Into the cite ful reuerendly, 13 15 

And purwayt for thaim gud herbry, 



1289. als. 1291. schosine. 1299. vnchangeabili. 



126 S. MACHOR. 

And gert fynd thaim, till thai war thare, 
All that to thaim was necessare ; 
For God had schauyt hym that thai 
Var thankfull seruandis till hym ay. 1320 

Forthi the tyme that thai duelt thare, 
Fol. 205 b. He did thame honor far the mare, 

And did his mycht with full gud will 

To gere thame bath duell with hym still. 

Bot Sanct Colme, that wald na wa be 1325 

For na requeste fra his cunctre, 

His wayag hamewart tuk in hy. 

Thane of the cite the clergy 

Fful increly mad hyme requeste, 

Sene that he duell nocht wald, at the leste 1330 

That he wald thole ane of his thare 

Duell for to preche Goddis lare. 

Thane was Sanct Colme full gretumly 
Abaisit and his cumpany, 

And haffand ferly held thame still. 1335 

Bot Sanct Morise of goddis will 
Sad till his mastir : " Fadire dere, 
" Quhat-euire it be that in this were, 
" That quhemfull be to you to do 
" As God hyme-selfe has sad ws to, 1 340 

" It sail be done, I sa, be me, 
" How paynefull or how hard it be." 
" And thu,'' quod he to Sanct Morise, 
" Blissit be ay, and now blissit is, 
"Fforthi with Marty ne and with me 1345 

" Sail hewynlik are and falow be 
" In hewynnis bliss, quhen thou art dede. 
" Bot yet shall thu duell in this stede 
" Thre yere, in Godis corne to wirk, 
"And strenth and confort Haly Kirk. T 3SO 

1319. god has. 1322. for the mare. 



S. MACHOR. 127 

" Tharefor strywe furth ay stalouartly 
" Ffor to confund oure ennymy, 
" And with prechyng and techyne wyne 
" Ffra hyme that he hankis in syne, 
" And in gud wark thi curss fulfill, 1355 

" Quhill God in hewine the tak Hym till, 
" And of richtwisnes thi full far crowne 
" The giff in hewine to thi werdoune." 
And quhen he thus had sad and mare, 
But bad he buskit hym to fare. 1360 

Bot Sanct Morise, that was full wa 
For to depart his master fra, 
To ger hyme duell a wile can lay 
His hand one hym, and thus-gat say : 
" My dere fadire, quhat thinkis thou 1365 

" As alyene to leff me now 
Fol. 206 a. " Ymang vnknawine men, and swa 
" Thi way into thi cunctre ga, 
" Or but lewe and the benysone 
" Of Sanct Marty ne pas of towne ? 1370 

" It war nocht spedfull be na way." 

Thane can his mastir till hym say : 
" Dere sone, suppos that I hame fare, 
" Forsuth the lewe sail I neuirmare, , 
" Bot God this place has grathit the 1375 

" Yet all thire thre yere in to be, 
" And eftir of that curs the stryff 
" To hafe reward and lestand lyffe. 
" Bot yet thi yarnyng till fulfill, 
" We will ga now the bischope till, 1380 

" And ask of new his benysone, 
" And leife that I ma pass of towne." 
The bischope rase than and hyme met, 
And tuk hyme and by hym set, 
And fandit, giff he ger hym mocht 1385 

Leif his purpos and chang his thocht. 



128 S. MACHOR. 

Bot he mycht nocht for na kyne thing 

Ger hym leif purpos na etling. 

With that the nycht come, and that auld, 

That for na prayere than duell wald, 1390 

Tuk leif and haile the benysone 

Of the Bischope, and mad hym bowne 

In Sanct Martynis kirk to wakk, 

And fulfill clergy for his sak ; 

And all the nycht in prayer lay 1395 

Befor the fertire to the day. 

And, as men sais, that nycht but were 

To Sanct Colme wakkand can apere 

Sanct Martyne suthfully, and bad 

Liang tym and spekyn with hym mad. 1400 

And thar the buk of the Wangele, 

That in the grawe was lad sum quhile 

Besyd hyme, quhar he grawine was, 

He gef hyme frely in that place, 

The quhilk all his lyftyme held he 1405 

As a relik in gret daynte, 

And left it, quhen he can dissess, 

In till his kirk, as resone was. 

Than one the morne, quhen it was day, 
He buskit hyme to gang his way 1410 

But langar howne in till his land, 
To Martyne hyme recommendand. 
Fol. 206 b. Thane folouyt hym out of the towne, 
A fer way with processione, 

Sanct Morase with gret cumpany 141 5 

Of lawide men and of clergy, 
And sa partyt, thoch thai war lath, 
With oft blissing and regrat bath ; 
For it is a full noyus thing 
Of dear frendis the departynge. 1420 

141 1. But langar but howne till his land. 



S. MACHOR. 129 

Quhen day was gane, and it was nycht, 
The bischope of the place hym dycht 
To slepe ; and Sanct Martyne but were 
Till hyme slepand thar can apere, 
And sad till hym : " Lof God in hicht, 1425 

" And blissis Hyme with all your mycht, 
" And he His name of alkine wyse, 
" And trew his seruand Sanct Morise, 
" That has visit you, and throu His grace 
" Benefice has ekit to the place. 1430 

" Forthi of Twrane the cite 
" May mak ioy als, and blith be 
" That Sanct Morise your patrone 
" Has gottine, and me to helpe yu Hone. 
" For he till God sa thankfull is, 1435 

" That in till hewine with Prophettis 
" And Patriarkis he sail be 
" Rewardit into lyk degre. 
" For thai till hyme war as samplar 
" To lewe his kyne that mychty war, 1440 

" And this gret pilgrimag to tak, 
" As did Abrahame for Goddis sak, 
" And lewe all warldis welth and keyne, 
" Reward in lestand lyf to wyne." 
The Bischope than waknyt of slepe, 1445 

And to this visione tuk gud kepe, 
And his clergy can till hyme call, 
And word for word he tald thaim all, 
As I befor here tald till yow. 
And thai that richt weile can hym trev, 1450 

Hewyt vpe thar handis to the hewyn, 
And lowit God all with a stewine. 
Than all the folk of that cyte 
Ewire ilk man in his degree, 



1427. he is name. 1429. Omits "That." 1433. yhone patrone. 

1434. yone Hone. '447- till hyme say call. 

N 



*30 S. MACHOR. 

With contryt will and ane assent, 1455 

To Sanct Morise but mare ar went, 
And hyme as fadire and saule-hyrd 
Fol. 207 a. Resauit sone, as thame weile byrde. 
And als the bischape of the place, 
That with the puple present was, 1460 

Of all his bischoprik the cure 
Betaucht till hyme of gret honour 
Of sprituale and of temporale thing, 
All to demayne at his lykine, 
Swa that to his dowme gret and small 1465 

That suld be downe, partenyt all. 

And fra that he sic charge tuk, 
He trawalyt besyly, and wok, 
Till his discipulis for to preche, 
And als the puple besyly teche. 1470 

And the bidding of the Postill 
Full ythandly he tacht thaim till ; 
And of gud lyf and honeste 
Gud ensamplar to thaim first was he ; 
For he hymeself in word and deide, 1475 

But ony syn liff ay can leyde. 
The clergy than full gret ioy mad 
That thai sa worthy faddire had ; 
And the puple, as thaim weile byrd, 
Was fayne that gottine had sic ane herd. 1480 
For into thai thre yere and mare 
Sanct Morise was duelland thare, 
The kirk sa weile ay gouernand, 
That thar fell nocht into the lande 
Pestilence of beste na man. 1485 

And tharto weddire had thai thane, 
That thai wane froyt of land and se 
Thru his prayere in gret pleynte. 

1460. puple pnt was. 1476- but ony . . . ff. 



S. MACHOR. 131 

And till it hapnyt hym of chaunce 

Sa lang tyme for to duel in Fraunce, 1490 

Mony merwale God for hyme wrocht, 

That I into this buk wryt nocht, 

Ffor bath it war langsum to do, 

And I can tak na tyme tharto, 

Bot sped me schortly for to tell 1495 

Of his ending, how it befell. 

Tharefor, quhen that he duelt had thare 
Thre yere hail-; and half but mare, 
He fell in till a lytill fewire, 

That quhile for cald will ger men cheuire, 1500 
And that seknes sa fast hyme socht,* 
Fol. 207 b. That hyme full nere till end It brocht. 
Sex days than with sic herd stryfe 
Befor that he passit this lyfe, 
He gert his clerkis mak his grawe, 1505 

And in till his orator hyme haf. 
And his discipulis till hyme call 
He gert, and sad this till thaim all : 
" My sonnys der, now ame I seit, 
" Of alkine flesche to yeld the deit, 1510 

" And sail be mad sowne, as yhe see, 
" Of fleschlyk presone quyt and fre. 
" Lowit be that me has gewine 
" Grace ; my strife I haf weile strifine. 
" Fforthi gud thing it is to me 1515 

" To be lousit and with Hyme be. 
" For it nedis me nocht, I trev, 
" In flesche to duell langar for you, 
" For ye ar parfyt in althing, 

" Of grace haffand na kyn wanting. 1520 

" Tharfor, dere sonnis, beis nocht irk 



1498. twre yere. 
* This line is repeated at the top of the next page in the MS, 



132 S. MACHOR. 

" With gud werkis to strynth the Kirk, 

" And with gud dedis seit your wili 

" Godis byding ay til fulfill. 

" Alkyne wicis ye put away, 1525 

" And luk ye Cristine treutht hald ay. 

" And ferme in pece and cheryte 

" And nehtbour lof, luk ay ye be." 

Quhen that he this had sad and mare, 
Thai wer dissessit, and gret full sare, J S3° 

And sad : " Der faddur, quhy will thu 
" All dissolat ws leif ws now ? " 
And he sad to thame : " Sonnis dere, 
" I leif you nocht dissolat here. 
" I sail euirmar with you be, 1535 

" Bath quyk and deide in all degre, 
" Anent God ay intercessoure 
" Ffor youre weilfar and your honour." 

The houss than gert he deuod all 
Of thaim that thar war gret and small, 1540 

Outane the bischopis that come thar 
To wisit hyme in that sithwar, 
And sic wthir religiouse 
He gert duell still in till the house, 
And prayt thaim for Godis sak 1545 

Fol. 208 a. The takine of the cors to mak 

One thar froynttis, that thai mocht se 

And here the thing that than saw he. 

And as he bad, sa haf tha downe, 

And thai bath herd and saw alsone. 1550 

And by his heid than saw thai stand 

Ihesus, His Postulis xij ymang, 

And Sanct Colme and Sanct Martyng 

Besyd his bed, thai saw stand syne. 

Thane spak swet Ihesu, God of Hewine, 1555 

To Sanct Moryse with full myld stewine : 



S. MACHOR. 133 

" Sanct Morise cum and with Me wone 

" In-to my fadir rik but hone." 

And with thir wordis he ras full rath, 

And gat apone his kneis bath, 1 560 

And sad as hale and fere war he : 

" In manus Tuas, Domine, 

" My saule I gyf," and sayand swa 

He yauld the gast. And it can ta 

Ffeile angelis, and bar in hewyne 1565 

With mekill sang and full swet stewine. 

The Bischape than and his clergy, 
A costly kirk gert mak in hy, 
Of siluer weile gilt for the nanys, 
And ennornyt with costlyk stanys, 1570 

And mad Sanct Moryse thare to ly, 
Enbawmyt weile and richly. 
And his sepultur mad thai syne 
Ewine syd be syd to Sanct Martyne, 
Quhar God, throw his gud prayer ay, 1575 

Cesis neuir, yeit nicht na day, 
Fferly werkis for to wirk, 
To ferme our treuth and strinth of kirk, 
In lofyng of Hym that of nocht 
This warld and the lawe has wrocht ; 1580 

For thar is wrocht euire ilke day 
Sa gret wondir, that I ne tell may, 
Of Sanct Morise throw the prayere 
To folk bundine with seknes sere, 
That I dar nocht record all now ; 1585 

For sume perchaunce suld me mistrew. 
For deiff men thar gettis heryng, 
And blynd men als parfyt seyng, 
Foi. 208 b. And halt men als thar gettis bute, 

That seknes has in schank or fut, 1 590 

1559. And with that wordis. 1578. to fereme. 



134 S. MACHOR. 

And dume men als thar gettis speke, 

That mekly will Sanct Morise sek, 

And full feile men of parlesy 

Gettis thar heile thar parfytly. 

And sume throu ydropesy sa gret 1595 

Swolne that thai ma ete no mete, 

Ar mad swampe thar, throu the prayer 

Of Sanct Morise, haile and fere. 

And sume that brawne-wod of ther wit 

War mad and wterly tynt it, 1600 

And helpe has socht at Sanct Morice, 

Recouerit wit and war mad wise. 

And sume that payne had of the stane, 

Or seknes into flesch or bane, 

Or quhatkine vthir infirmyte, 1605 

That man or woman had, gyf he 

Or scho Sanct Morise socht increly, 

At hyme thar heile thai gat in hy, 

Throw mycht of Giffar of all grace, 

To Quhome he ay trew seruand was. 1610 

And swa gif God, that I ma be 

His seruand into sic degre, 

Out of this lyf that I may twyne 

But schame, or deit, or dedly syne. 

Explicit Wita Sanct Macharij 161 5 

1597. And mad swampe. 



NOTES 



NOTES 



S. NlNIAN. 

1-728. Cp. Ailred's Vita Niniani. 
i-iio. Cp. Vita N. Cap. 1. 

1. Like other similar legends, this seems to have been used as a 
homily and was probably read in Church on the Saint's day. The 
first line evidently assumes that something has just been said about 
the Saint. The likelihood is that the legend was read after the 
lections in the office for the day. Compare the opening lines of the 
Machor legend. 

2. Quyk, alive. Blessit, blessed, as shown by his works both 
during his lifetime and after his death. 

3. Into frequently occurs with the sense of " in." Mekil Britane, 
Great Britain. 

4. Elderis, forefathers. 

5. Kyne, descent. 

6. Warldis wyne, worldly possessions. 

7. Fra, when, a frequent meaning. 

9. Wes howine, was baptised. Literally the meaning is was raised 

or lifted, i.e., at the font ; hence " howine " came to signify baptised. 

Dr. Morris in his glossary to Hampole's Pricke of Conscience, cites 

the following passages in illustration of the word : 

" Than at the fyrst of that case 
The Kyng of Brettane howyn was ; 
And all the Barnage of his land 
Than baptyst wes. — W. C, p. 98 (Macpherson). 

" Syne howyn he wes, and cald Henry." — Ibid., p. 309. 

" Or gif a man have hove a childe 

God hyt forbede and shylde 

That that chylde shulde any have 

Of hys godfadrys, maydyn or knave." 

— Handlyng Synne, p. 55. 
" The fyrst Sacrament ys holy bapteme 

Hove of water, and noyted with creme." — Ibid., p. 294. 

In, at. Fontstam, font, i.e., the baptismal font. 

o 



138 NOTES. 

1 2. Cud-clath, a cloth in which children were wrapped at baptism. 
" Last of al the barne that is baptizit, is cled with ane quhite lynning 
claith callit ane Cude, quhilk betakinis that he is clene weschin fra 
all his synnis, that he is brocht to the libertie of the Haly Spreit, that 
he suld lyve ane innocent lyfe all the dais of his lyfe, aye quhil he 
cum to the jugement seit of our Salviour.'' Archbp. Hamilton's 
Catechism, p. 192. Edit. Law. Laucht, received. 

1 2. At his macht, with his might, as carefully as he possibly could. 

13. Goddis Son, God's Son, i.e., Christ as the Judge of all. 

14. Dedly syne, mortal sin. But smyt, without spot or stain. 

16. In waste, in vain. 

17. The meaning is — For he so kept himself from sin. 

18. Itwonnyt, it dwelt; i.e., the gift of the Holy Spirit which he 
received when baptised. 

19. Growine of the text is a mistake for growand the proper form 
of thepres. p. "And as he growing was ... so grew he in 
virtue" (1. 22). Cp. 1. 49. See the corresponding passage in Machor, 
ll.Si-52. Eld, age. 

20. Rypare is the compar. of "ripe." And hymeselfe mycht weld, 
and might control or govern himself. 

22. Forberand wantones, abstaining from wantonness. 

24. Welfully, plentifully. 

25. Entendand til his lare, attending to his lessons or instruction. 

26. Late and are, late and early. 

27. He beguthfirste to lere, he began first to learn. 

28. Ore, before. The meaning of the line is — before he was five 
years of age. 

29. Hymeselfe led, conduct himself. 

30. He suld dred, he should, fear. 

32. In al degre, in every way. 

33. Leyrit is thep.t. of " lere " (1. 27). Syng, sing, i.e., the psalms 
used in Divine Service. 

34. Vndirstanding must here stand for the object of understanding, 
i.e., knowledge. 

36. Wer, cautious, prudent, sagacious. Vertuise, virtuous. 

39. " And apprehended very subtilly." 

40. In til hy, quickly. 

42. The parallel line in Machor is " Ay retentyve he had a wit " 

0- 338). 



NOTES. 139 

43. Hafand hyme, etc., conducting himself in such wise. 

44. Ourmen, teachers or superiors. 

45. And seems to have the meaning of "if" or " though; " and the 
meaning of the passage is probably that his superiors, though greater 
than him in some respects, were less than him because of his great 
meekness. 

48. Of al mane, etc., without giving offence to any one. 

50. Vertuse, cp. the same word in 1. 35. M., 1. 146, uertuse is 
used with the sense of virtuous. In Bellenden's translation of Hector 
Boece, Dundee is described as a "toun . . . quhair mony 
virtews and lauborius pepill ar." 

51. And fore, etc. And because he feared lest he should fall. 
Had dout means literally had fear. 

52. Til abstinence, etc.. he gave himself wholly to abstinence. 

53. Vndirloute, lit. subject, in subjection. 

" The bestes bowet him alle aboute 
Als til thaire lorde vnderloute." — Cursor Mttndi, 677 (F). 

'* The enmy ; that is, he that is wise in his awn eghen and will noght be 
vnderloute til thi wil." — Hampole, Ps. viii. 3. c. 

" And under lout til thaim was he 
Als god child an til elders be." — Met. Horn., p. 109. 

54. For dred, for fear. Thra and stout, wilful and strong. 

56. Or let, etc., or prevent him from obtaining the heavenly reward. 

58. Abandonit, abandoned, i.e., surrendered himself to. 

59. And in wake, and in watching, vigils. Wake rhymes with mak 
and is more frequently written wak or ivakk. 

62. The use of the double negative is frequent. See M., 584. 

64. Dedis, conduct ; lit. deeds. Thankfully, acceptably. Stere, 
to direct. Cp. steer. 

67. Cuth, knew. " Mast he cuth o crafte and crok." 

70. Ore he wald irke, before he would grow weary. Irk has an 
intransitive as well as a transitive meaning. Here it has the former, 
as in the following : " To preche also thow myght not yrke." Myrc. 
Instructions for P.P. 526. Swa that na man moght irk withalle. 
Hampole, P.C. 8918. 

86. That medful, etc., that it was meritorious for whoso might. 

87. And cuth als, etc., and also knew how, (or and was also able), 
to sow God's seed. 

90. He vmthocht hym. The same phrase occurs in the English 



HO NOTES. 

Metrical Homilies of the 14th century. "And he umthoght him 
what was best," p. 79. 

91. Faute, want. Wynnare, gatherer. 

98. Techure, teacher. 

101, Dressit hyme, prepared himself. Rome, S. Patrick is also 
said to have visited Rome, but the fact of his having done so is much 
contested. See Lanigan, Eccl. Hist, i. 319, et seq., and Todd's Life 
of S. Patrick, 481. Ninian's visit is placed during the time of Popes 
Damasus (a.d. 366-384), and Siricius (a.d. 385-399). At what time 
Rome began to be visited by pilgrims or ecclesiastics, whether for 
purposes of devotion or instruction, from the British Isles is unknown. 
Several of the earliest among the Irish saints are said to have had the 
intention of making the journey, but were hindered by divine warn- 
ings. Todd, pp. 100-1 16. For an excellent description of Christian 
Society in Rome at the period of Ninian's supposed visit see Mrs. 
Oliphant's Makers of Modern Rome, Bk. i., M. A. Thierry's Saint 
J'erome, and S. Dill's Roman Society. 

108. Glad, glided, passed. 

" The sherand suerd glaid to the colar bane." — Wallace, i. 414. 

" He kest the penis on the flote, 

And son awai he glad." — C. Mundi, 16492. 

" AIs the gleme in the glasse gladly thow glade."— York Plays, 135, 272. 

1 1 1-25 2, cp. Vita N., cap, 2. 

112. Letting, hindrance. 

115. And the Papis, etc., and obtained an audience of the Pope. 

130. Clergy. The usual meaning of this word is learning as opposed 
to ignorance. See Piers P., B. iii., 164, and Skeat's note thereon. 
Here it stands for theological or ecclesiastical learning. 

132. Goddis yard, cp. "God's vineyard." The same phrase occurs 
at 1. 164. 

142. Cuth, the more usual word is can or cane, did. 

145. The Pope, supposed to have been Pope Siricius (a.d. 385-399). 

147-157. Not in Vita N. 

152. Hird, herd, pastor. Goddis fe, God's cattle. The modern 
phrase is " God's sheep," as being more in accordance with the 
phraseology of Scripture, as in such passages as : — " We are his 
people and the sheep of his pasture," Ps. 100 ; " Other sheep have I 
which are not of this fold," Jno. x. 16. 

154. Trawele, labour, work. 



NOTES. 141 

156. Smoryt, smothered. 

161. Relykis, relics, i.e., of the saints and martyrs, which were much 

prized and sought after, inasmuch as God was believed, and is still 

believed by Catholics, to be pleased sometimes " to honour them by 

making them instruments of healing and other miracles, and also by 

bestowing spiritual graces on those who with pure hearts keep and 

honour them." Addis and Arnold's " Catholic Dictionary," 783 ; see 

also the article in Smith and Cheetham's Diet, of Chris. Antiqq., sub 

Relics. Releife, provide. The word is not common, but occurs several 

times in the Bruce, as 

" Thai had defalt of met, bot thar 
Thai war relevit with gret plente. " — xix. 803. 

164. Goddis yarde, cp. "God's vineyard." 

170. In his gat hamewart, on his way home. 

178. And aquynt al with hyme be. Aquynt, "acquaint" is still 
used in the sense of acquainted, as in the song, "John Anderson," 
" When we were first acquaint." 

183. Semblit, assembled, met. "A," when the first syllable, is fre- 
quently dropped. 

186. They took leave of each other. 

190. Askit at is still a common phrase. In the Life by Ailred the 
number of masons is not mentioned. Benedict Biscop is said to have 
built his monastery at Wearmouth, " Romano opere," with the assis- 
tance of workmen brought from Gaul. Bede, Hist. Abbat., 5. 

193. God stirand, God steering or directing him. 

194. Wele far and, faring or doing well. 

195. That were right glad at his reture. With come cp. Mod. Scot. 
" hame-come." 

196. Faryne is the pp. of the verb to fare. Cane frayne, did ask. 
200. Teleman, husbandman, labourer. 

233. Sawyne, sown. 

206. Skalit it, scattered or dissipated it. To spil is to destroy. 

208. To lay waste that which was ill-built. 

209. He made had playue, had levelled. 

210. The meaning of the passage ending with this line is that the 
Saint's first care was to root out all error and false doctrine so as to 
prepare the way for the preaching and acceptance of the true faith. 
What has hitherto been called " Goddis yard " is here called " Godis 
feilde." 



142 NOTES. 

212. Schaw, saw. 

214-215. These lines simply repeat in a different form what has 
been said before. 

218. And thole, etc., and suffer no error to throw it down, or over- 
throw or supplant it. 

219-220. He lived what he taught. 

224. Made feil wordy, etc., made many worthy to sit down at 
God's Table, i.e., fit to receive the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper. 

225. Cane fang, did snatch. 
227-252. An addition. 

233. Suerdome, indolence. The author may have wanted to dis- 
tinguish between " suerdome " and " idilnes." If so the first word 
refers more to the inward disposition, and includes the additional 
element of reluctance and unwillingness, whereas the latter refers 
merely to the outward conduct. The two words, however, have 
pretty much the same meaning, though " to be swere " by no means 
necessarily implies indolence, but chiefly, if not altogether, reluctance 
or unwillingness. 

234. Wicht, valiant. So Barbour. 

Than wes thair ane William francatss, 

Wicht and pert, vitss and curtatss. — Bruce, X. 531. 

236. This is frequently put for thus. 

240. And Jul ithand, etc. And very diligent in study. 

241. Leile. Barbour has kill. 

" Swa wroucht he than throu sutelte 
That all the kill men of the land, 
That with his fader wes duelland 
This gud man gert cum ane and ane, 
And male him manrent euir ilk ane, 
And he himself first homage maid." — Bruce, v. 293. 

242. Thewis, manners. The word does not occur in Barbour, but 
is in frequent use among more southern writers. The Prompt. Parv. 
has " Thewe, maner or condycyon," p. 490 ; William of Palerne, 
" Semlyest of thewes" 518 ; and the M. Arthur. 

" Of foo, ne frend, the sothe to say, 
So vn-hend of thewis is there none, 
His gentilnesse was alle away, 
Alle churlysshe maners he had in wone." — 1081. 

243. Large in almus, liberal in alms. Dowyng, endowing, bestowing. 

244. Hafyng, behaving, behaviour, conduct. Cp. Hafand of 1. 43. 



NOTES. 143 

Barbour has. " hawyng " — " The Kyng has seyn all thair hawyng." 

" Bruce," xi., 246, and " havyng." 

' ' And he persauit that in hy, 
Be their effeir and thair havyng;" — VII. 412. 

248. Cp. Rom. xii., 15. 

253-270. Cp. Vita N., cap. 3. 

255. Schenschype, shame, hurt, disgrace. "Schenschepe, in shame, 

Ignominia." — Prompt. Par., p. 445. 

" Thai salle have mair schame ef thair syn thare 
And thair schendschepe scall be mare, 
Than euir had any man here in thoght. " — P. of Conscience, 7 146. 

" Gif I told him treuli my tene and myn anger, 
What Hif for longyng of loue I lede for his sake, 
He wold wene I were wod, or witerly schorned, 
Or that I dede tor despit to him schonde ; 
And that were a schamly schencfiip to schende me euer. " 

— W. of Palerne, 556. 

258. That Quhithorne to nam had ay. This statement requires to 
be received with considerable caution. According to all accounts it 
was called Candida Casa, Witernen, Quhiterne, Quhithorne, or the 
White House because of the Church S. Ninian built there. By what 
name it was known before or whether it was known by any name is 
unknown. The designation White House refers according to Sir 
Herbert Maxwell to the appearance of a stone and lime building as 
distinguished from structures of dry stone, wood, or wattle. " Can 
did Casa, in Anglo Saxon Hwiterne," he remarks {Studies in the 
Topography of Galloway, p. 308), "would be a descriptive name 
naturally suggested by the whiteness of a house of stone and lime 
compared with the mud and wattle prevalent in the district." He 
further remarks (p. 42), " Among the crofters of the West Highlands 
at this day the distinction is well understood between a " black 
house " of dry stone and thatch, and a " white house " of stone and 
mortar with slate roof." Another explanation that has been given, 
though of a more doubtful character, is that the walls were covered 
with adamantine cement as was done in S. Wilfrid's Church at Hex- 
ham. There were other " White Churches " in Scotland. In East 
Lothian was the Church of Hamer or " White Kirk," one of the 
foundations of S. Baldred ; and in Aberdeenshire was the " White 
Church " of Buchan. The Church at Durham, in which the body of 
S. Cuthbert reposed three years, during the erection of the greater 
church to which it was translated in a.d. 999, was called alba ecclesia 



144 NOTES. 

(Simeon. Dunelm., Hist., lib. iii., cap. ii.). A church was erected in 
honour of S. Oswald near the place in which he fell, " que Candida 
dicitur " (Lelandi Collecti, i. p. 366). There was also a " White 
Church " or " Whyte Kirk " in Ireland. See Reeves' Eccles. Antiqq., 
p. 26, and the preface to the Book of Deer, p. clii. In the Celtic 
legend of S. Cairnech, Candida Casa is called " the house of Mar- 
tain " {Celtic Scotland, ii. 46). Later on, 1. 615, it is called " Sanct 
Martynis Kirk." 

265-270. These lines are clumsy in construction and ungrammatical. 
" That " of line 267 refers back to " Sancte Martyne " in line 265. 
268. Quyt, paid. Alkine, all kinds of. 

269. Clommyne, climbed. 

270. With . . . to be ewine, to be equal with, or to be the 
same as. 

271-305. Cp. Vita N., cap. 4. 

273. Niniane preching, Ninian's preaching. The sign of the pos- 
sessive is omitted. Similar omissions occur somewhat frequently. 

274. Lare is equivalent to " preching " of the preceding line. 

275. Contrare wes, was opposed. The phrase is still used in the 
same sense. 

277. Worde he, he became. Sens, for syne, afterwards. 
280. That til de, etc. That he thought he was about to die im- 
mediately. 

283. Thane tyd in, then happened in, i.e., then came into, etc. 

284. Thare-of na way, etc. That he could not be healed except 
through him, etc. 

286. Schupe hyme, set himself. To verray, to war against. 

" And werray the Brws as thar fa." — The Bruce, ii. 462. 
" Or that he schap hym for to fair 
To warray Carrik than no mair." — Ibid., v. 220. 

289. Til rew one, to have pity on. See in Thomas of Erceldoune : 

— " Lufly Ladye ! rewe one mee," 87. 

293. Messagis is a dissyllable. Cp. 

" Quhat art thow walkis that gait ? 
A trew man, Schyr, thocht my wiagis be layt." — Wallace, v. 244. 



295. Hely, loudly 

"The 

Till a: 
"Mei 

296. Distrowre, destroyer, 



" Then till his men gan hely cry 

Till armys swyth, and makys you yar." — The Bruce, ii. 315. 

" Men mycht her wemen hely cry." — iii. 734. 



NOTES. 145 

299. The croice werray, the true Cross. " Werray " here is an al- 
together different word from " verray " of 1. 286. See Glossary. 

3 S-336. Cp. Vita N., cap. 5. 

310. This is not said in Vita N. 

317. Fra here, as frequently, means "when." 

320. Care, anxiety, grief, sorrow. 

324. Parise, parish. The country was not divided into parishes 
till considerably later. The precise date is unknown, but it cannot 
be placed much earlier than the reign of David I. (1124-1153). 

334. The ewine way, together, at the same time. 

344. Wifis, wife's, i.e., woman's. 

347. On tre, on the Cross. 

355. Sackles, innocent; cp. The Bruce, x. 175. But wen, without 
doubt. 

358. As kind requirit, as nature required. 

367-382. Cp. Vita N., cap. 6. 

371. Paroch is used in the plural and stands for " parochis." 

374. And stat is al, etc. And all degrees that pertained to that 

position or dignity ; i.e., the different orders of the priesthood. Had, 

state, office, or dignity. 

" I that suld be o clene liuelade 
Has oft bene chapman gain my had." — CM., 28409. 

" Fra he had tan the apostilis hade." — Ibid., 20941. 

377. Fay, faith. The word came into English from the contem- 
porary French about the year 1300, and was for a time almost as 
commonly used as " faith." It occurs in Cursor Mundi, Barbour, 
Chaucer and Spenser. 

379. Fundit, founded. 

382. Downy sday, doom's day. 
383-424. Cp. Vita N., cap. 7. 

383. A tyme, one time, once. 

384. Brethire, the plural of " brother." 

385. Frature, refectory. 

389. Burdis, tables. The singular of the word occurs in 1. 224. 
Hale, hall, dining hall, refectory. 

392. Yard, kitchen-garden. Cp. "The Pystil of Swete Susan," 118, 
where it is used in the modern sense of "garden " — " Als this schaply 
thing yede in hire yerde." Mod. Scot., "kailyard." 

398. But ony frist, without any delay. 



146 NOTES. 

' ' Than send thai furth, but langar frest 
The voman that suld be thar spy." 

— The Bruce, vii. 547- 

" Ihesus turned him aboute 
On Peter His ey He kest, 
Then wiste he commyn his Maister worde 
Withoute \axiget frest."— C. M., 15954 (V.). 

404. Leikis, leeks. Cp. caile with cale, 1. 390. The diphthongs ai 
and ei are often used for the vowels a and e respectively. With 
" s«de " in the next line cp. "s«de," 1. 87. 

406. Cummyne and sawine are past participles. 

410. Greu to grow. 

425-479. Cp. " Vita Nin., cap. 8. 

427. Bestiale, flesh. 

428. Hale, entirely. 

431. A tyme. See 1. 383. 

432. In entente, with the intention. 

433. Lug, hut, shelter, shieling. 

443. Les kepe, less heed, care. Cp. " catel " with " catile," 1. 446. 

444. On slepe, asleep. Cp. the phrase " he fell on sleep." 
449. Bot a bule, etc. But a bull fierce and terrible. 

451. Maister thef, the ringleader. 

452. Brane-woud, mad. 

453. And in the wame, etc., And in the bowels fetched him such a 
blow. 

456. And that sign remains yet. See Vita N. 

459. Thai is here used as a demonstrative pronoun. Schrawis, 
rascals, thieves. "Schrewe, parvus." — Prompt. Par,, W. of Paler ne, 
449. The word is used for wicked persons of either sex. 

461. Wex woud, lit. waxed mad; went mad. 

462. Morne-day, next morning. 
465. Peris, companions. 

" Syr Bors and his other ferys 
On bokys redde, and bellys ronge. " 

— Le-Morte Arthur, 3830. 
467. To gowe, to look. 

" Butan thatt tatt tu gowesst 
Thseronne." — Ormulum, ii. 70, 1. 12233. 

479-55<^ Cp. Vita Nin., cap. 10. 

488. Suppos, although. 

" Supposs that it be sum-deill wat, 
A page of ouris we sail nocht tyne." 

— The Bruce, xix. 692. 



NOTES. 147 

493. Trewand, trusting. 

494. Than, then. 

495. Patent, staff or crutch. The word is used by Langland (B. 
viii. 96) in the sense of a croiser. Chaucer calls the " tipped staff " 
carried by the itinerant limitour a "potent." "Potent or crotche, 
podium." — Prompt. Par. " Potence, a gibbet ; also a crutch for a 
lame man." — Cotgr. Cp. 11., 514, 525, 529; and see Du Cange, sub 
" Potentia." 

497. Gyfhe had mystere, if he had need. 

500. Sa gaste, so afraid. With gaste, cp. Mod. Eng. a-ghast. 

504. Coble, cobble, a small boat, then made by stretching an ox- 
hide over a wooden frame. 

506. But bad, without delay. 

509. Or itflet, etc., before it floated from the land. 

512. And the lad began to think. 

515. Maste hoile, largest hole. 

518. Of the merit of him who owned the staff. 

520. Rycht as, just as if. 

523. Haile and bene, whole and sound. 

526. Com to lande. The place where he is supposed to have 
landed is the isle of Sanda on the east coast of Kintyre, and 
now included in the Parish of Kilblane. On the island are the 
ruins of a chapel dedicated to S. Ninian, to whose monastery in 
Galloway the whole island once belonged. Not far from the chapel 
is a perpetual spring formerly noted for its miracles. Orig. Paroch., 
II. pt. ii. p. 9 and 820. According to the New Statistical Ace. in the 
churchyard of the ancient chapel referred to there is an alder tree 
growing over the reputed grave of S. Ninian. Should any one walk 
over the grave, he was supposed to be about to die. 

532. In remembryng, in remembrance. 

533. It suldfloure bere, it should bear flower, or blossom. 
538. Fayr, cp. " faire," 1. 404. 

540. Thar sprang, etc. See note to 1. 526. 

551-592. Cp. Vita N., cap. 9. 

553. Prosebia. The Life has "Plebia." 

560. To visy, to see, examine, inspect. 

561. Lawit men, laymen. See Jamieson, sub voce. 
563. Be the gate, by the way. 

567. Athir, either, i.e. both. 



148 NOTES. 

570. Myrke, dark. The comparative degree is used in I. 573, 
" myrkare." 

574. Sa thycht, so thick, heavy. Thycht is an unusual form. 

Cp. "blacht" in the following— 

" The blosummes that wer blycht and brycht. 
By hir wer blacht and blew." — Tayis Bank, 66. 

576. Noyusflud, Noah's flood. 

583. Dere, injure. 

" He was adrad to the deth lest sche him derc wold," — W. of Palerm, 953. 

" And many nightes als haue thai waked 
To dere all Ingland with thaire dede." — Minot i. 52. 

587. Hey one hycht, high on high. 

588. Dycht, prepared. 
590. Devore, devoir, duty. 
593-634. Cp. Vita N., cap. n. 

606. Of the richt gat, of, or in, the right way. 

609. Of parfit dat, of perfect date, in due time. 
611-614. The dates are wanting in Ailred's Life. 

615. Sanct Martynis Kirk. See note 1. 258. 

616. Gert virk, caused to be worked, i.e., built. 

617. Kiste, tomb, sarcophagus. 
620. To strinth, to strengthen. 

629. Help and bute, help and healing. 

635-718. Cp. Vita N., cap. n : "In paupere deformi." The chap- 
ter narrates three other miracles, viz., " In paupere scabioso," " In 
puella caeca," and " In duobus leprosis," which are here omitted. 
638. To lend, to dwell. 

" To bu and liue witouten end 

Or elles o ded in langur lend." — C. M., 754. 
" Myne Armure shall I leue wyth the, 
And in thy brothers wille I wende ; 
Loke thou ne long not after me, 
For here I may no longer lende, 
Long tyme ne shalle it nocht be 
That I shalle eyther come or sende." — M. Arthur, 565. 

641. Knafe child, male child, boy. 

642. Gert sate grtt, caused to weep sorely. 
644. Gret lake, great blame. 

646. Bysnyng, monster. In the Buke of the Howlat we have bysyn. 
" I am netherit ane Owll thus be Natur, 
Lykar a fule than a fowle in figur and face, 
Bysyn of all birdis that euer body bure 
Withoutin caus or crym, kend in this case." — Howlat, ix. 



NOTES. 149 

649. Agane kynd, contrary to nature, abnormal. 

650. Heilt and /a, heel and toe. 

652. To lake, to blame. 

653. Hend, back. 

656. As al ane suld be, as if all were one. 

661. Vnthrifte, profitless, useless, evil thing. Cp. " but profyte," 
1. 657, and " a thing but thrifte," 1. 676, and 

" Mane, Techal, Pharez, merited in thrynne 
That thretes the of thyn vnthrifte upon three wyse." 

— E. E. Allit. Poems, B, 1728. 

" To vnthryfle am alle thrawen with thogt of her herttes." 

— Ibid, 516. 

694. Lath, loathed. 

665. Tho thai wa ware, although they were sorrowful. 

666. Nedly, of necessity. Mycht, could do. 

667. Ran thame to thocht, it occurred to them. 

668. Vondire, marvels, miracles. 

672. Forworthine, good for nothing, useless. Wycht, cp. 1. 684. 

677. The quhethire, however. Lathly, loathsome. 

682. Dede, slain. 

684. Wicht, child. 

685. And as, and when. 

686. Bysnyne, the same as bysnyng. Cp. 1. 646 and note. 

692. Ful, foul, ugly, misshapen. Cp. M. 644, 647, 649, 672, 677. 
697. Twechit, touched. 
699. Lofing, praise. 

703. Raxit hyme, stretched himself. 

704. Oyse, use. like deile, every one. 

705. As kynde, as nature. 

706. On hame, homewards. 
709. Lykinge, pleasure, delight: 

719-814. Author's conclusion ; not in Vita N. 
720-721. The text here is corrupt. One or more lines have evidently 
been omitted. 

725. For, because. 

727. Sawle-heile, the salvation of souls. 

728. Seruand leile, leal, faithful servant. 

731. Menskis, honours. 

732. Ferterit, enshrined. 



ISO NOTES. 

733. J<erter, shrine. 

736. The chapel stood on a hill, and in the opinion of Bishop 
Forbes is probably what is termed in the Ordinance Survey Map, 
Chapel Outon, which stands on a little eminence of 200 feet, about a 
mile north of Whithorn. The Treasurer's Accounts for the reign of 
King James IV., which specify the different sacred spots at Whithorn 
connected with S. Ninian, mention it several times. 

738. As, when, after. 

740. Fere, company. 

" Wit al thair farnet and iha.\xfer 

Thai com to land."— C. M., 24947 (Edinb.) 

742. Bot the maste vorthi, etc. The Ragman Roll contains a list 
of 26 names for the County of Wigton and of 107 for the County of 
Dumfries. In the former of these lists are the names of John 
Comyn, Earl of Buchan, Johan le Mareschal de Toskerton, Thomas 
de Torthorald, Fergus MakDowylt, Dougal MacUowyl, Roland 
MacGaghen, Thomas MacUlagh, William Polmalot, Adreu de Logan, 
Johan de Meynreth, Rauf Champaigne, Arthur de Galbrath, etc. 

743. The meaning seems to be " in order of precedence." 

745. For the pardone gret, because the pardon is great, i.e., because 
the pardon to be obtained there covers sins many and great. 

749. The day on which the birth of S, John the Baptist is cele- 
brated is June 24th. 

752. Landis sere. The countries enumerated are France, England, 
Spain, Wales, and Ireland. By al landis this halfe of Proyse may 
possibly be meant the countries between the east of France on the 
one side and Prussia on the other, 

754. Bewanye, profit. 

756. Men cumis, etc., men are in the habit of coming. 

760-62. Tene thousande, etc. On such days men will see there ten 
thousand, besides more who often come there. Among them would 
undoubtedly be included a large number from Scotland. In the New 
Statistical Ace, Vol. IV., Pt. ii., p. 132, it is said : " The shrine of 
St. Ninian was visited by pilgrims from the most remote parts of 
England, Ireland, and Scotland. Even down to the time of the 
Reformation the relics of the Saint were believed to work miracles. 
A direct line of cairns, from the Nith, from the Doon, and from the 
Irish Sea, can yet be traced to Whithorn. The cairns, it is said, were 
commenced at a remote period at the different stations where pilgrims 



NOTES. 151 

were allowed to rest, each of whom was obliged to add a stone to each 
cairn ; which in course of time accumulated to the vast heaps on 
which strangers now look with astonishment." 

766 That he kithis, that he causes to be made manifest. In the 
Treasurer's Accounts for 1506 there occurs the following entry : 
" Item to ane pilgryme that Sanct Niniane kythit miracle for, xviijs.'' 

768. His fasting. The fast was to begin at noon on Friday and 
continue until after Mass on the following Sunday ; and this was to 
be done thrice every quarter of the year — twice, it would appear, in 
successive weeks, and once at any other time during the quarter the 
devotee might choose. St. Ninian's fast was kept up in Lancashire 
and Westmoreland as late as the second half of the sixteenth cen- 
tury. See Bp. Dowden's Note on the late cultus of S. Ninian. Pro- 
ceedings of Soc. Antiqq., 1894-95, p. 198, et seq. 

772. Rath, quarter. 

779. He sal eschewe, etc. He shall obtain his desire unless it be for 
some unlawful thing. 

782. Fer ma vonderis thane I cane say, far more wonders, i.e., mira- 
cles, than I am able to relate. 

791. Gettis bute, gettis is the plural of the verb. 

793. The speke, speech. 

802. Vod, for voide or voyde. 

" For God, thrugh his gudnes and his myght, 
Wald, that eeri that place in heven bright 
Was made voyde thrugh the syn of pride, 
It war filled ogayne on ilka syde. " — Hampolt P. C. , 390. 

808. Myslary, leprosy. Referring to the twelfth century, Mr. 

Robertson, in his Scotland under her Early Kings, Vol. 1, p. 305-6, 

says : — "No burgh was complete without a Hospital — no royal burgh 

without a Castle. Leprosy was the disease of the age — a never ceasing 

plague, entailed by unwholesome food, a want of vegetables, and the 

salted food and fish which formed invariably the winter diet, not a 

little aided by uncleanliness. Every one struck with leprosy within 

the walls was to be removed at once to the Spittal ; and if he had 

nothing of his own, a collection of twenty shillings — a considerable 

sum for the time — was raised for his support. If the pauper was not 

cured by the time the money was spent, he was probably dismissed 

as incurable, and classed amongst the confirmed lepers, who were 

forbidden to enter any town, but were allowed to sit at the gate and 

beg. By the Law of Scotland it was allowable to give ' Herbary ' to 



152 NOTES. 

a stranger for one night without question, but if he stayed beyond 
that period the host was answerable for the guest, and bound to pro- 
duce him before the proper officer. Even this relic of the unstinted 
hospitality of early times was dispensed with in the case of this 
dreaded disease ; and he who sheltered a leper within the walls was 
liable to the heaviest fine inflicted, 'the full forfeiture.' Similar 
arrangements were once in force in every burgh ; as in London, for 
instance, where the Spittal Fields were the open meadows around the 
Hospital for Lepers, who were allowed to ask for alms at the Cripples' 
Gate, a spot which the charitable may have sought out, but which a 
larger class must assuredly have shunned." King Robert the Bruce, 
himself a leper, is said to have founded a Lazar-house at Prestwick, 
near Ayr, and to have endowed it from Robert-loan and from Spittal 
Shields in the neighbouring parish of St. Quivox. Stirling had its 
Crofta Leprosorum or Lepers' Croft (Charters, etc., Jan. 28th, 
1505-6), and as well its Spittal town, carse, meadows, lands, and myre 
{Ibid., Nov. 17th, 1641). Lanark also had its " fermes of Spittel 
landes " (Records, etc., Dec. 5th, 1689). Hospitals of the same 
kind are mentioned at Ayr and Maybole. In the Parliament of 
James I. held at Perth, a.d. 1427, it was ordained "That na lippyr 
folk nother man nor woman frae thyn furthe enter na cum in to na 
burghe of the realme bot thryss in the wolk that is to say ilk Monun- 
day, ilk Wedinsday and ilk Friday frae x houris quhill twa efter nune 
and quhar faris or markatis fallys on thai dais at thai tak thar entre 
and gang on the morn to get thar lewying — Item, That na lipperouss 
folkis sit to thig in kirk nor in kirk-yarde na in na nother place 
within the burrowys but at thar awn hospitale and at the port of the 
town and vther placis without the burowys — Item, That the bischoppis 
officiaris and denys inquyr diligently in thar visitationyss in ilk paryche 
kirk gif ony be smyttyt with lipper and gif ony sic be sa symttyt at 
thai be deliueryt to the king gif thai be secularis and gif thai be clerkis 
to thar bischoppis and at the burgesses ger keip this statute wnder the 
payne contenyt in the statute of beggaris and quhat lipperouss that 
kepys nocht this statute that he or thai be bannyst for euer out of that 
burghe quhar he disobeyis and in lik wiss to landwart," etc. Under 
the statute referred to all beggars were compelled to wear a " takyn " 
(token), under pain of being branded on the cheek and banished the 
country. The penalty, however, seems to have been restricted to 
branding on the cheek and banishing from the burgh. By a statute 



NOTES. 153 

of the Town Council of Edinburgh passed in the years 1529-1531 
lepers were forbidden the town, or at least to " cum amangis uther 
clenis personis," and especially to attend the markets or to be found 
in the market places. According to Boece a leprous woman, if found 
to be with child, " baith sche and hir barne war buryit quick '' (alive). 
As need hardly be said, special pains were taken to find out those 
who were afflicted with the disease, and frequent entries respecting 
persons suspected, as well as of their punishment, occur in the various 
Burgh Records. One of the most interesting, as it refers to the 
ancient mode of treating those afflicted with the disease, occurs in the 
Records of the Burgh of Stirling under Oct. 5, 1528, and is as follows: 
" It was foundin be the said inquist that Sir Johen Hountter is lipyr 
and hais byne delatit in thre or four heid courtis of befoir, and that 
he sould be put to ane desert without the burgh, as lypir men hes 
usit to be be demanit (treated) in tymis bypast, for danger that ma 
incur eftirwart." The Council, however, does not seem to have been 
altogether satisfied that he was a leper, for on the 4th day of the 
following October an entry occurs to the effect that the said Sir Johen, 
along with a certain brother priest named Sir James Lokart, " war 
fundin lypyr." Equally interesting is the following from the Burgh 
Records of the City of Glasgow, under date 19th January, 15734: 
" Marioun Gardiner, dochter to Steyne Gardiner ; Jonet Grhame, 
Jonet Steward, Robert , fleschour. Quhilkis persounes ar dilatit 

as lepir, and ordainit to be viseit, and gif thai be fund sua, to be 
secludit of the town to the hospitale at the Brigend." When the 
disease was finally stamped out, and very extreme methods were 
adopted to stamp it out, the hospitals and endowments were used for 
the shelter and support of the poor. 

818-942. Dr. Neilson (Scot. Antiquary, No. 26) has tried to make out 
that this story is told by Barbour in the Bruce in two parts, Bk. VII., 
375-615, and Bk. IX., 496-631. The points of similarity are fairly 
numerous, but of no great weight, while those of difference, though 
few, are fatal to his theory. To mention one or two of the latter : — 
In the Bruce the episode of the trumpet-blowing by Jak Trumpour, 
the most dramatic incident in the story as told in the Legend, is 
omitted, and not a word is said about the trumpeter. In the Bruce, 
again, Robert I. is the hero of the first part of Dr. Neilson's story, 
and Sir Edward Bruce the hero of the second part, while in the 
Legend not a word is said about either of them. Is it likely that the 



1 54 NOTES. 

author of the Legend would have left the King out of the story if 
" but lessinge " he could have got him into it ? Of the woman spy, 
again, and of her confession upon which, according to the Bruce, so 
much depended, the Legend knows nothing. Moreover, the super- 
natural element which plays so important a part in the Legend is not 
found in either of the stories in the Bruce. But after all the facts 
that the hero of the story was not Robert I. nor Sir Edward Bruce, 
but Sir Fergus MacDowal, and that the incident happened, "but 
lessinge," not during the lifetime of Robert I., but " quhen Sir Davy 
Bruys wes King," are sufficient to show that the story told by the 
author of the Legend is not identical with the two told in the Bruce. 
The argument that the similarities in the three stories prove that 
Barbour was the author of the whole of the Legends takes a great 
deal for granted, and is far from convincing. 

8 1 8. Sir Fargus Macdouel, Sir Fergus Mac Dowal, progenitor of the 
Macdowals of Makerstoun. He was the son of Duncan Mac Dowal, 
who was at first a supporter of Balliol, but was afterwards, in 1353, 
induced by Sir William Douglas to detach himself from the English 
party and to swear fealty to David II. in the church of Cumnock, an 
oath which he faithfully observed. Fergus also joined the national 
cause, and after the disappearance of Balliol received in return for his 
services the barony of Borgue, which, as it is said, "Mowbray 
forfeited." His mother, Margaret Fraser, who was probably the 
second wife of Duncan, inherited the baronies of Makerstoun, Yet- 
holm, and Clifton, in Roxburghshire, which she resigned to him, and 
for which he obtained charters from Robert II., 3rd May, 1374. 
Robertson, Index, 40, 115. Reg. Mag. Sig. Rot., ii. 32, 33. Chal- 
mers' Caledonia, iii. 378. Agnew's Hereditary Sheriffs of Galloway, 
vol. i., 106. 

821. Slachtyr, war. 

823. Doute, fear. 

825. Sum get hym to grewe, some way of annoying him. 

826. If fortune would suffer them to succeed. 

829. Do be mycht, do by force. 

830. Thai skupe thaim, etc., they set themselves, or endeavoured, 
to do by artifice or stratagem. 

331. And spyale gat, etc., and set a watch to ascertain when he 
might be found separated from his men or from any considerable 
force of them. Cp. 1. 837. 



NOTES. 15s 

834. But skath of men, without harm or danger from his men. 

835. The thre Counteis of Carleile, the three Counts of Carlisle, 
usually termed the Wardens of the Marches. The first of the English 
Kings to organise Carlisle and the adjacent lands on the southern 
side of the Border for military defence was Henry I. This he did in 
the same way as the borderland of Wales had been organised, by 
setting over them an Earl who, within his district, was entrusted with 
all the rights of the Crown as regards land tenure and jurisdiction. 
" The eastern side of the Scottish border was handed over in this way 
to the Bishop of Durham, after one or two experiments had shown 
that a lay Earl of Northumberland was likely to become a dangerous 
person to the Crown. There was no such great ecclesiastic on the 
western side, and Henry I., not without misgivings, set up an Earl of 
Carlisle. For this office he chose a Norman, Ranulf de Brichsard, 
Viscount of the Bressin, a man well known and trusted by the King. 
This Ranulf was generally known as Le Meschyn, or the younger, 
and was nephew of Hugh of Avranches, whom the Conqueror had 
sent to rule the Welsh border as Earl of Chester. 

" He took the obvious step of providing for the defence of the 
Borderland by portioning it out into three baronies, which he granted 
to trusty men. In this way he imitated in a small way the policy of 
the Crown. Henry I. had given Ranulf the Earldom of Carlisle 
because it was too far off and too doubtful a possession for himself to 
manage efficiently. In like manner Ranulf committed to others the 
dangerous frontiers of his territory, and kept in his own hands the 
better guarded lands which lay behind them. Thus he formed the 
baronies of Gilsland and Lyddale to guard the passes which led from 
Scotland by land, and the barony of Brough to guard the approach to 
Carlisle by the estuary of the Solway. The barony of Gilsland he 
gave to his brother William ; but it was a barren grant, for William 
was not able to get his lands out of the hands of the Scots. Their 
Scottish lord, Gill the son of Bueth, held them till his death, and left 
his name to the district which he so stoutly held, so thai^ when in 
aftertimes the land was given to another Norman lord, it was described 
as ' that which Gill the son of Bueth had held,' and so was known as 
Gilsland." 

The young Earl of Chester perished in the " White Ship," in 1119, 
and Ranulph was appointed to succeed him as Warden of the Welsh 
marches, and no one was appointed to succeed him as Warden of the 



156 NOTES. 

western Scotch border. The lands of the Earldom were divided, and 
five out of the eight baronies into which they were formed, along with 
the three which Earl Ranulph had created, went to make up the 
County of Carlisle. Over this a Sheriff was placed, as in the case of 
the other counties, who collected the King's dues and guarded the 
rights of the King within its limits. 

During the reign of Edward I., who, in 1296, appointed Robert de 
Clifford Warden of the Marches, the English lands along the border 
were divided into districts, known as the East, Middle, and West 
Marches. Over each of them was placed a Warden who was 
entrusted with both the civil and military control of his district. One 
of the three generally bore the title of Lord Warden, and was the 
military superior of his collegues. Bp. Creighton, Carlisle, pp. 27-28, 
67. The Scottish side of the Border was similarly organised, and the 
arrangement continued down to the union of the Crowns. Calendar 
of Border Papers, vol. i., p. xi. 

The " Counteis " who tried to entrap Sir Fergus were evidently the 
three wardens holding the offices set up by Edward I. 

839. Stithly, stoutly, firmly. 

" He feynit not for the fall ne the felle hurtte, 
But stert vp stithly, straght out a swerde, 
And flang at the freike with a ffyn wille. " 

Destruction of Troy, 1 240. 
" Bot stythly he start forth vpon styf schonkes," 

Gardvyne, 431. 

841. Suddandly, stealthily. 

842. Connand, agreement. 

850. Pautener, vile, rascally. " Pautounier, a lewd, stubborn, or 
saucy knave " — Cotgrave. " Paltonier, pantonier, homme sans pro- 
fession ni demeure fixe ; homme de manvaise vie, mechant, hantain, 
miserable, gueux, coquin " — Burguy. " Pautonier, pautounier, homme 
sans profession ni demeure fixe, qui se louoit an premier venu, pour 
Stre employe" aux ouvrages, les plus vils et les plus abjects, on pour 
commetre de mauvaises actions ; homme pret a tout faire, a assassiner 
meme, coquin, sce'le'rat, assassin,'' etc., etc. — Roquefort. 

851. Hamely, intimate. Cp. 1. 853. 

855, 865. Viste, knew. 

856. Fow folkis, few followers. 

867. Housband ton, a farm. Ton or toun originally signified an 
enclosure, and the word is still applied in Scotland to a farm house 
with its outbuildings. 



NOTES. 157 

868. Made himself ready for sleep and rest. 

869. Halfint slepand, half-sleeping. 

872. In al degre, in every respect. 

873. And put one hyme, and laid his hands on him. A similar 
story is told of S. Magnus. See the short Magnus Saga. 

878. To contre, to meet, oppose, attack, encounter. 
884. Dicht hyme defy/, get ready quickly. 

889. lak Trumpoure. On December 5th, 1365, David II. con- 
firmed to John Trumpour, then Carrick Herald, four merklands called 
Litilgretby in the Lordship of Kyrasalda, in the county of Dumfries, 
and the twenty shilling lands called Glengarg and Glencrag in the 
lordship of Curwen (Colvend) in Kirkcudbrightshire, which had been 
given to him by Dugallus M'dowile (Reg. Mag. Sig., i. 41, no). 
The date of the gift is not given, but Dr. Geo. Neilson, who first 
called attention to the confirmation (Scot. Antiquary, No. 43, p. 102), 
conjecturers, that the John Trumpour here mentioned may have 
been, and in all probability was, the lak Trumpoure of the text. 
The confirmation is given in Robertson's Index, p. 77, where the 
name is printed John Trapont. 

890. Burdoure, jester. 

895. Bot myste, etc., but the mist was so dense etc. 

897. The gat syde, the road side. 

899. And vend veile, and fully believed. 

900-901. That had quickly gathered his men, unknown to him (i.e. 
lak) to make some raid. 

902. And trumpit, etc., immediately blew a loud blast on his 
trumpet. 

908. The tothire, the other. 

911. The selfvay, the same way. 

913. But areste, without stopping. 

914. Vnknyt sealit, loosely scattered. 

915-16. And tharewith, etc., and thereupon the men in the neigh- 
bourhood soon gathered together and came to him. 

920. Andfeile, and many. 

921. Quheine, few. But merdale, except the camp-followers ; lit. a 
dirty crew. It was useless to take these as nothing was to be gained 
by them either in way of ransom or in any other way. 

930. He gert his quere, etc., he caused his choir to be covered in. 
Fergus, Lord of Galloway, is said to have founded the Priory at 



158 NOTES. 

Whithorn in the second half of the twelfth century, and by this time 
the roof of the choir had in all probability fallen into disrepair. 

931. In mynde of, in memory of. 

942. Quhen Sir Davi Bruys ves king, when Sir David Bruce 
(David II.) was King, 1329-1370. 

944. That gret myse dede, that great evil did. 

945. For his purpos, as the result of his actions. 

946. In pressone stith of siane, in prison strong of stone. Stith 
means strong or stout. 

Stythe knightes and stoure stert vp agayne 
Armet at all peses abill to fight. 

— Destruction of Troy, 942. 

948. To deful dede, to die a shameful death. For " ful," cp. foul, 
1. 986, and " the schameful ded," 1. 1058. 

950. Yet he vmthocht, yet he remembered. 

954. Dout, fear. 

961. Quhar he was madfaste, where he was made fast. Apparently 
he was in chains and fastened to the wall. 

964. In gret dissese, in great discomfort or distress. 

966. To hald the law, to administer justice. 

968. To here chalausing, to hear their accusation, i.e., to stand their 
trial. 

971. And asyse callit, and assize called. An assize is a session of 
a Court of Justice. O. Fr. Assis, assise, an assembly of judges. See 
also Roquefort sub Assises. Here it is equivalent to "jury." "And 
syne efter aw an assyse to be rasyt for the inquest to be maid apon 
the articles of the chawmerlane ayr." Laws and Customs of the 
Burghs of Scotland, p. 136. 

975. And with, etc., and by the jury found guilty. 

976. To the gtbet demyt, to the gibbet doomed, i.e., sentenced to be 
hanged. 

977. Tilthifte? 

978. His schrifte, his confession. 
980. Ewine the way, along the way. 

982. Thai knyt, they fastened. 

983. And tit, and tied, strung. 

984. Fayre, usually fare, to go. 

989. In that sted, in that place, or position. 

990. That he mychtfeile, etc., that he might feel no pain of death. 



NOTES. iS9 

993. Effray, peril, danger. 
995. For God, before God. 

1002. Tho thu be, etc., though thou be placed in peril. 
1007. Als apertly, as openly. 
1009. Dais lycht, day's light, i.e., dawn of day. 
ion. The keparis of the law, the guardians of the law. 
1015. Harlit, dragged. 

1018. Til thame thocht, till he seemed to them dead. "Thocht" 
is used impersonally. 

102 1. As he did are, as he did before. 
1027. Ore it wes none, before it was noon. 

1033. His commone, his fellows. 

1034. Of the towne, out of the town. 
1043. Stil, quietly, untroubled. 

1045. Bot or he had, but before he had. 

1046. Be how and hayre, by hood and hair. 

1047. Fut-hete, with all speed. 

" Till Iamys of Dowglas at the last 
Fand a li till sonkyn bate 
And to the land it drew fut hate. " 

— The Bruce, Bk. iii. 418. 

See also Bk. xiii. 454. In Chaucer it is spelt foothot. 

1050. Leile syse, lawful assize, legal trial. Cp. " lachtful iugment," 
1. 1072. Syse is aphetic for asyse. 

1060. Venand weile, thinking well. 

1087. Oure Solouay sand, over the Solway sand. 

1092. That of thame, etc., that very few knew of this raid. With 
quhon cp. quheine, 1. 921. With quhon may also be compared ./£>« and 

fone, Pricke of Conscience, 540, 762, 764, 2693 ; Cursor Mundi, 
15822, 18246 ; and with queheine may be compared the mod. Sc, 
wheen, a few. 

1093. Til the forrouris, etc., until the foragers were scattered. 

1095. And pray t, and ravaged. 

1096. Nere to thar stall, near to their trysting place or to where 
part of their company lay. 

" Bot, quha so list towart that steid to draw, 
It is a stelling place and sovir harbry, 
Quhar ost in staill or enbuschment may ly, 
Quhidder men list the bargane to abyde 
Owder on the rycht hand or on the left syde, 
Or on the hicht debait thame for the nanis, 
And on thar fais welt dovn wechty stanis." 

— G. Douglas, iv. 50, 16. 



160 NOTES. 

1098. Of that fang, with that booty. 

1099. And thar departyt, etc., and there divided their booty. 

1 100. Andilkane, etc., and each took a different way. 

1101. Thare wynnyngand place, their dwelling place. 
1 1 1 4. Quhat wynnyng, what booty. 

1 1 30. Assith, compensation, satisfaction. 

" And he had nocht quhare-of to tak 
To mak asyth to that beggar." 

— Lives of Scottish Saints, St. John, 601. 
" And thowcht full assyth to ta 
And vengeance of the Brwis." 

— Wyntoun, Cron., viii. xviii., 105. 

" To hym will I make asith agayne." 

— York Plays. 
1 143. I hicht lely, I promised truly. 
1 148. He, i.e., the captor. 1 

1 15 1. Sir, quhat wynnyng had ye ? What advantage would you 
gain ? 

1155-56. For I count him a foe to God who would slay a man 
without occasion. 

1 168. Sa mot I the, so may I prosper. 

" Now who so seyth so, mote he never thee." 

— Ch. Troil. and Cr., ii. 670. 
" For he that winketh, whan he sholde see, 
Al wilfully, god lat him never thee." 

— Ch. Nonne Preestes, T. 612. 

1 1 78. lo wauld youre lymmys, to use your limbs. 

1 1 79. For I wat weile, for I know well. 

1 181. Be sere ferlyse, by several miracles. 

1 195. A condyt, a safe conduct, permission to cross the Border. 

12 1 2. Iwil vil, ill will. 

1 2 14. As he demyi, as he thought. 

1 2 19. And faucht and flat, and fought and quarrelled. 

1239. Bot efte can ban, but oft did curse. 

1242. Ar mar lurne, are more fierce. 

1245-6. And it is easy to increase distress to him who is sick 
already. 

1247. And fywe causis, and five purposes. Those enumerated 
are: — 1. To test a man's virtue; 2. to keep back from pride; 3. to 
cleanse from sin ; 4. to reveal the joy of God ; and 5. to indicate the 
pains of hell. 

1250. As lyd, etc., as happened to Job in his trials. 



NOTES. 161 

1 25 1. Tholmodnes, patience. 

1253. For yemsele, for the preservation. 

1259. But were, without doubt. 

1266. As quhile betyd of, as once happened to. 

1270. Of al-lestand, etc., of everlasting damnation. 

1279. Na bewayne, no profit. 

1284. Than with outray, than with outrage, violence, insolence. 

1286. This a nicht, this whole night. 

1294. Cp. 11. 872, 988. 

1303. And mystrowand, and distrusting. 

1308. Thi lath lymmys, thy hateful limbs. 

1320. Vith halouys, with saints. 

1324. Ver thane thee, etc., worse than thou wast to make thee. 

1327. Raxit hyme, stretched himself. 

1 33 1. Ves tycht, was drawn. 

1334. For myn ogart, etc., for my pride I have lost favour, which is 
too well shown on me. 

1 34 1. To gere, etc., to cause the needy to be taught by me. 

1343. And to be were, etc., and to take warning from me to say 
nothing of thee but praise. 

1345. For be me, etc., for by me thou hast made known. 

1 36 1. Murrefe, Moray. 

1364. Weile mony day, very many days, a long time. 

1370. The worm. Diseases were wont to be regarded as the 
handiwork of sprites, and were accordingly personified. They were 
said to come upon, surprise, attack, seize, take hold of and overpower 
a man. Hence in the Edda an oath is exacted from diseases, as 
from living creatures, to do no harm to Balder. Fever was sometimes 
regarded as an elf who rides the sufferer with rein and spur. By some 
it was spoken of as a butterfly. Flying gout also was imagined in the 
form of a butterfly. It was likewise supposed to assume the form of 
a worm. So again " a burning tumour at the finger nail {wapawxk)," 
says Grimm, " is called the worm, the unnamed (because one was shy 
of uttering the creature's name), the evil thing. Other names for gout 
were mane-wurm, hdr-wurm. Grimm also mentions an instance of a 
tumour at the finger-nail being called the unnamed worm. Here the 
trouble in the limb whatever it may have been, was accompanied by 
swelling at the knee. Whether the disease was gout, rheumatism, or 
white swelling it is difficult to tell. A trace of the old superstition 



162 NOTES. 

as to disease remains in the word ring-worm. Grimm, Teutonic 
Mythology, 1153, 1656. 

1378. Na eschew ded, nor avoid death, i.e., in consequence of the 
disease in his limb. 

1380. Ay were and were, aye worse and worse. 

1381. Gris, ointment. 

1382. Na of char me, etc., neither from charm nor stone. The 
charms here referred to were other than stone charms. Of such 
charms there was an almost innumerable variety. For an account of 
them the reader may consult Grimm's Teutonic Mythology, vol. iii., 
pp. 1 162, et seq. Sacred relics were supposed to be good for every- 
thing. Among others may be mentioned, the first three sloe blossoms 
one sees on a tree in a year were counted a remedy for fever ; iron 
rings made out of nails on which men had hanged themselves were 
supposed to cure the gout. " The hearts of certain birds, the flesh, 
blood, fat of certain beasts possessed a peculiar healing power. . . . 
The blood of birds and of the fox heals wounds" (p. n 73). The 
blood of innocent boys and pure maids was supposed to cure leprosy, 
and the blood of slain malefactors the falling sickness. Remedies 
were sometimes tied on or were worn fastened round the arm, neck, 
or waist. Gout charms were worn on the breast wrapped in un- 
bleached linen, with flaxen threads without a knot. Sometimes the 
preservatives, protective pendants, amulets, were of thin metal plate, 
also of glass, wood, bones, herbs, silver and gold. Cipher-writing 
and runes were also supposed to have a healing virtue. There were 
also word-charms, which being uttered were supposed to cure or 
inflict a disease according to their character. Animals were often 
sacrificed in order to effect the cure of a disease (see Sir J. Y. 
Simpson's Archaological Essays, vol. i., p. 206). "The most im- 
portant medicinal relic " in the Museum of the Society of Antiquaries, 
Edinburgh, writes Sir J. Y. Simpson, "is the famous 'Barbreck's 
bone,' a slice or tablet of ivory, about seven inches long, four broad, 
and half-an-inch in thickness. It was long in the possession of the 
ancient family of Barbreck in Argyleshire, and over the Western 
Highlands had the reputation of curing all forms and degrees of 
insanity. It was formerly reckoned so valuable that a bond of ^100 
was required to be deposited for the loan of it." Ibid., p. 207. 

Of curing-stones the most famous in ancient Scotland was that of 
S. Columba. The story of it is told by Adamnan in his Life of S. 



NOTES. 163 

Columba, Bk. 2, chap. 33. The water in which it was dipped cured 
Broichan, King Brude's chief priest, of a deadly disease, and the 
stone is said to have been long kept in King Brude's treasury. Three 
other famous Scottish curing-stones are the Clach-na-Bratach, or 
Stone of the Standard, the Clach Dearg or Stone of Ardvoirloch, and 
the Lee Penny, for an account of which see the Essay above referred 
to. Spherical stones, crystal beads, adder stones, or water-worn 
perforated pebbles were also regarded as invaluable amulets or 
charms. " Pennant," says Sir D. Wilson, " after referring to the cure 
of cattle bewitched by elf-shots, by making them drink the water in 
which an elf-arrow has been dipped, adds : — 'The same virtue is said 
to be found in the crystal gems and in the adder-stone ; and it is also 
believed that good fortune must attend the owner : so for that reason, 
the first is called Clach Bhuai or the powerful stone. Captain 
Archibald Campbell showed me one, a spheroid set in silver, for the 
use of which people came above a hundred miles, and brought the 
water it was to be dipt in with them ; for without that in human cases 
it was believed to have no effect.' " — Prehistoric Annals of Scotland, 
vol. i., 197. 

1388. "Unless it were something unlawful to ask.'' 

1395. Spending, money for spending, i.e., for his current expenses. 

' ' Sylver thai had, all with him has he tayne 
Him to support ; for spendyng had he nane." 

— Wallace, ii. 413. 

1406. Met way, measured way. 

1416., Sadly, heavily. 

1427. Disese, discomfort, pain. 

1429. I lat the wit, I let thee know, be it known to thee. 

1442. In al degre, in every respect. 



164 NOTES. 



S. MACHOR. 

2. In the Holy Catholic Church. 

3. Lowing, praise. 

4. Halowis, saints. 

5. Farleis, wonders, merits. 

6. Til, while. 

8. Cunnyng, skill. Mayne, strength. 

9. Sancte Moryse, Saint Maurice. 

10. Ware and wise, sagacious and wise, 
n. Erd, earth. 

12. Bye, high. 

13. Aberden. The Cathedral Church of Aberdeen is his principal 
dedication. 

16. Qtihen at, when that. Sum quhile, once. 

19. Suth, truth. 

20. Werraly, verily, truly. 

21. Quhen, few. Cp. N.L. 1092, and note. At, the old relative 
pronoun, that. Wat, know. 

23. On chance, providentially. 

25. Toron, Tours. 

26. Set, although. 

27. Fetryt, enshrined. 

28. Haldine, holden, held. Lowing, Cp. 1. 3- 
30. Wondir-werkis, miracles. 

34. Schupe hym, set himself. Flesand, pleasing, acceptable. 

37. Syaconus, recte Fiachna. He was probably a chieftain, and 
seems to be unknown beyond the authorities cited for his son's life. 

39. Synchene, recte Finchoemia. Nothing more is known of her. 
Both she and her husband appear to have been Christians. 

42. Mocumma. This name, as will afterwards be seen, was changed 
for Machor, and that again for Mauritius. 

43. Fostyre, foster. The custom of fosterage, by which the children 
of the upper classes were entrusted to a family belonging to the 
inferior ranks, to be brought up and trained along with their own 
children, prevailed among the Irish tribes from a very early period. 
When the Ancient Laws were drawn up the institution was in full 



NOTES. 165 

operation, the regulations connected with it forming part of the 
Senchur Mor. According to this there were two kinds of fosterage 
with the sept — fosterage for affection, and fosterage for payment. The 
clothing and the food of the children given to foster were minutely 
regulated, as was also the payment to be made on the part of the 
parents. The price of the fosterage of the son of a King was thirty 
three-year-old heifers ; the foster sons were to have horses in time 
of races, and the foster father was bound to teach them horsemanship. 
The period of fosterage lasted till the boys were seventeen, and the 
girls fourteen. Minute regulations are laid down as to their educa- 
tion and punishment. On the termination of the fosterage, the foster 
father returned the children with a parting gift, which was regulated 
according to the Honor price ; and in return, the foster son was 
bound to maintain his foster father in sickness or old age, in the same 
manner as he would maintain his own father and mother. See Skene's 
Celtic Scotland, iii. 190-192, and E. O'Curry's Manners and Customs 
of the Ancient Irish, ii. 355. For the custom in Scotland see 
C. Innes' Sketches of Early Scotch History, pp. 366, et seq. Skene, 
iii. 321, and Robertson's Early Kings, i. 34. The original source for 
information is, as need hardly be said, the Ancient Law of Ireland, 
vol. ii. 

43. Betuk, delivered. It is a form of the past tense of beiech, 
beteach, to deliver. Other forms are — betacht, betaucht. Blind Harry 
uses the same form as here. 

' ' He him betuk on to the haly Gaist, 
Saynct Johne to borch, thai suld meite haill and sound." 

— Wallace, v. 462. 

" The harrold than, with worschip to dewys, 
Be tuk till him the kingis wryt of France." — Ibid., viii. 1663. 

48. Fosterit, fostered. The word is here used in its modern sense. 
62. With a stewyn, with one voice, together. 

65. Quha aucht the house, who owned the house. The phrase 
" quha aucht " is still in common use. 

66. In that sythware, at that time. 
78. Wen, conceive. 

79-80. The meaning is : — The King alone was permitted to see the 
vision of the angels. 

81. Held on hicht, held up. 

82. At al his mycht, with all his might. 



166 NOTES. 

85. Alkine il, every kind of evil. 

86. In he service, in high or great service ; in the service of God. 

87. But in what kind of way, or in what way, he praised God. 

88. Or how he blessed his son. 

89. It were too long here to tell. 

90. Or, etc., before he went away. 
93. Ton, town, i.e., farm or farm-town. 

100. Yauld, yielded. 

1 01. Ekyt, added to, increased. 

102. Almon, alms. The word is usually written "almon," "almus," 
or " almows " ; but it has many variants. 

103. Ithandly, earnestly. 

107. It tyd of case, it happened by chance. 

108. Deliver is here used for deliverit, delivered. 

109. A knaf child, etc., a male child that died immediately after it 
was born. 

no. Or, before, as in 1. 90. Wan, won. The meaning is: — The 
child died before he could be baptised. 

rn. Rare, moaning; lit. roaring. 

116. The gettare, parent. 

118. It gay nit nocht, it was not beseeming. Doul is the same as 
dule, 1. in. 

1 19-120. And then because against the stroke of death there is no 
remedy. 

122. With al hy, with all haste. 

124. Sped thaim, make haste. 

126. Quhat suld word, what should happen. Assay, see: lit. try. 

127. Has, have. The form for singular and the plural is the same. 

131. The sicht he had sene, the vision of the angels visiting 
Mocumma. 

132. He truely believed without any doubt. 

133. That merely through the touching. 

138. The Kingis ayre, the King's heir, i.e., Mocumma. 

143. When he had touched his brother. Fra in the next line 
has the ordinary sense of "from." 

144. But bad, without delay, at once. 

145. Squelyt gret, cried loudly. Raryt yarne, roared intensely. 

146. Kynd, nature. The meaning of the line is: — "As was natural 
for such a child." 



NOTES. 167 

147. Man is evidently a copyist's mistake for men. Cp. thai of 
1. 149. 

148. Care, sorrow, trouble. 

" Sara had six score yeer and seuen tho 
And deyed withouten childre mo 
Then Isaac no mo sho bare 
And Abraham for hir hadde care. 
In Ebron buryed hir Abraham 
There furste was buryed olde Adam." 

— Cursor Mundi, 3209- 32 1 4. 

"Then he wendes, wendes his way wepande for care" 

—E. E. Allit. Poems, B. 777. 

151. Hame had, carried home. "Had hame" is still in use. 

153. Mare than, etc., more than may be named, i.e., described. 

155. Confluens, concourse, gathering. Cp. N., 1. 197. 

159. And anerly that, etc., and that, viz., the astonishment, and 
the praising of God was not there only, but everywhere throughout 
the whole Church. 

162. Hofine, baptised. See note, 1. 8. Ninian. 

164. Delytabli, pleasant, delightful. 

166. Hard, heard. 

167. In the course of time. 

169. It tyd, it chanced, happened. 

171. A I hyre alane, all alone, by herself. 

172. Lawe, rest. Thare gat, their way. Ware gane, were gone. 
The other inmates of the dwelling had gone their several ways, and 
the nurse was left alone with the child. 

176. For to wit, in order to learn. 

177. Stert for stertit, started. Stert vpe, rose up suddenly. 
180. Nicht it, come near it. 

'■ Feith had first sight of hym ac he flegh on syde 
And nolde nought neighen hym by nyne lon'des lengthe.'' 

— P. P. B., xvii. 58. 

"And fro the day that he deiede durst no man him ntighe." 

— W. of P., 13230. 

" Traytour, and coward, come agayne 
Whan I am hole and goynge on hye, 
Than wylle I prove wyth myght and mayne, 
And yit an thow woldyst nyghe me mye, 
Thow shalt wele wite I am not slayn." 

— Le Morte Arthur, 2832. 

187. " God's grace always so keeping it." 
189. And raf hir hare, and tore her hair. 



168 NOTES. 

190. And beft hyre-self, and smote herself. Care, see note to 
1. 148. 

191. "That out of her mind she went nearly mad." The line is 
somewhat pleonastic. 

192. Frely fud, noble child. 

" That freelich fode Philip."— A lex., 209. 

" Hevene and erthe nowe gladde may be 
That freely foode nowe for to see. " 

— York Plays, 492-31. 

193. Ithanly for ithandly. See 1. and n., 103. 
195. Fulfele, full many. 

197. Hynt, took. Harry the Minstrel uses hyntyt as the past form. 

" Quhill Warans ost thik on the bryg he saw 
Fra Jop the horn he hyntit." — Wallace, vii. 1180. 

He has also hynt — 

"Wallas was glaid, and hynt it sone in hand." — Ibid., i. 406. 

" His men entryt, that worthy in deid, 
In handis hynt, and steikit of the \ayfl."—Ibid., iv. 255. 

So also has Barbour, but not hyntyt. Cp. The Bruce, ii. 415 ; iii. 
113; vii. 588. 

201. Wemmyne, for wemmynge, the verbal subst, from which the 
" g '' is frequently omitted. Fra wemmyne, from being hurt. Sa 
brath, so fierce. 

202. Or in clath, or in clothes. The child was so protected that 
even its clothes were not injured by the fire. 

205. Increly, earnestly. 

206. Had kyd, etc., had shown so great a miracle. 

" Loved be that Lorde that lastis aye 
That vs has kydde thus curtaysely, 
To wende by many a wilsom way, 
And come to this clene companye." 

— York Plays, 135-242. 

208. Til al thar sycht, before the eyes of all. 

209. Gerrand, using. Gerrand is part of the same verb as gtrt 
(made), of the following line. Cp. the use of gora (Icel.), from which 
it is derived. 

210. Had made obedient to him. 

2 1 1-2 1 2. Another ferly happened in connection with this nurse of 
when. 

213. Forgetil, forgetful. Wath, peril. 



NOTES. 169 

214. Foroutyn skath, without hurt. 

215. Erand, errand. 

216. For, because. Had dout, had fear, i.e., feared. Cp- Ninian, 
1. 51, n. 

219. Fat, vat, tub. 

221. Weppit, wrapped. See Skeat's Etymol. Diet, under whip. 

222. Yed hyre way, went her way, i.e., went to do her errand. 

224. But pare/, without peril, i.e., without risk of coming by any 
hurt or harm. 

225. Ware, was. 

226. Menye, company, i.e., one of the other inmates of the house. 
In come ane, one came in. 

227. Vnwitand, not knowing. 

229. Richt vpe to the bra, right up to the brim. 

234. Yarne, eagerly. 

236. It wes na were than, there was no doubt then that, etc. 

238. And inquired where he had put the child. 

239. In the grond, in the bottom. 

241. He wist nocht, he knew nothing. 

242. Hopyt wele, feared greatly. " To hope " signifies to expect 
an event whether good or ill. Hence the Tanner of Tamworth says, 
" I hope I shall be hanged to-morrow " (quo. by Nares from Pulten- 
ham's Art of Poesie, bk. iii., c. 22), and in Chaucer, C. T., 4027, we 
have " Our manciple, I hope he wol be deed," i.e., " I fear he will be 
dead." See Skeat's note to P. Plowman, c. xviii., 313, and Etymol. 
Diet., sub. hope. Forfarn, destroyed. 

245. Is, his. Just as the aspirate is sometimes added, so it is 
sometimes omitted. 

246. So get say, speak in this way. Get is the same as gat of 
1. 170. 

247. Scho rugyt, etc., she tore the hair off her head. 

248. And hie, etc., and loudly did shout. 

249. Skartyt, scratched. 

250. And al the lave, etc., and all the rest [of her body], that was 
naked. 

25 1. Nevis, fists. Reft, tore. Perhaps we should read beft, smote, 
instead of reft. 

252. And tore or smote whatever part of her body or dress she 
could next reach to. The woman seems to have been frantic with 



170 NOTES. 

grief and remorse, and to have torn her person or dress indis- 
criminately — whatever about her, in short, that came to her hands. 

255. In hyrefawt, by her fault. 

256. The tothyr tyme yet, etc., the second time again. Yed is pro- 
bably better than yet. Sa forfarne, so perished. 

257. And because her guilt was known. 

260. Sic bere, so much noise. Bere signifies a loud noise. 

261. The manere wist, the reason knew. 

262. Tyd, did, turned. But marefyrst, without more delay. 

263. Hale and fere, whole and sound. 

264. Nychd it near, come near it. The phrase is tautological. 
Cp. the similar phrase in 1. 180. 

268. Myne na mare, less nor more. 

269. Fra wath ofwatir, from harm by water. 
271. For He that saved Moses alive. 

273. Defendit, protected. 

274. In gret were, in great peril. 

278-9. That sa gret, etc., that so great a marvel had so shown forth 
in that child. 

285. Vertuise sare, manifold virtues. Sare — sere, various, several. 

289-292. These lines are corrupt. 

292. That fare ware and sere, that were fair and many. 

299. Thowis = theviis. Cp. Ninian, 1. 242. 

301. Rypare eld, riper age. 

302. Hymself yeld, guide himself. 

303. Heare thing, higher things. 

304. To her, to hear. 

305. And that which imprinted itself on his heart within. 

306. Fled aye syne, fled sin always. 

307. And by the time that he was seven years of age. 
310. Sa gret cele, so great zeal. 

312. A formulare, an example. 

313. The ded, the deed, conduct. 

322. Was wytryt wele, etc., was well informed of his manner of life. 

325. Columbe, Columba. He was descended from Niall of the 
Nine Hostages, monarch of Ireland, on his father's side ; and on his 
mother's from a prince of the Royal house of Leinster. 

331. Tilenforme fyrst, to instruct first. 

332-374. Cp. the parallel passage in Ninian. 



NOTES. 171 

347. He doutyt, etc., he feared lest he should fall. 

352. And let hym, etc., and prevent him from attaining to the bliss 
of heaven. 

353. To wak, to vigils. 
356. To lere, to learn. 

366. But bysynes, etc., without anxiety or travail. 

367. Salamon, Solomon, the Wise King. 

368. But dred, without fear, i.e., of contradiction. 

369. A nicht, a single night. 

380. As a geme, like a gem. 

381. I am not worthy truly to teach. To lere is still used in the 
sense of to teach. 

383. And kene hyme al, and teach him all, 

384. He wald lere, he would learn, or desired to learn. 
387. Thai had inwy, they were filled with envy. 

390. Wes lowit, etc., was praised to that degree, i.e., so highly. 

393. Fere the mare, far, i.e., much more. 

394. Than he did are, than he did before. 

395. Held carpyyng, held conversation. 

401. Be sere assay, by manifold proofs. 

402. Nocht a dele, not a bit. 

410. Jn al syd, on all sides, everywhere. 

415. And for thair cause, etc., and for their sake who were so holy. 

416. Of landis fare, of distant lands. 

417. Til haf, etc., to learn of them. 
419. Foreowt ma, many more. 

423. Gyftis fare and grat, gifts fair and great. According to the 
next line they were gifts of clothing as well as of food. 

429. And because he did not desire to be known, etc. 

430. With, by. 

431. He determyt, etc., he determined in his thought, i.e., he resolved. 
433. Vnchut land, unknown land. 

447. With-thi, on condition. 

448. Kyne, kindred, kinsfolk. 

449. / lettyt, I refrained, let it alone. Apparently he abstained 
from carrying out the intention, more for the sake of Mocumma's 
people, lest if he should go and Mocumma should go with him, it 
would be a cause of great sorrow to them. 

451. Suffrant ioy, chief joy. 



i;2 NOTES. 

452, etc. Therefore if thou wilt take my counsel, thou wilt first 
obtain their good love and permission, for in this way we may best 
succeed. 

460. The meaning seems to be that Mocumma was resolved to 
leave his kindred for the purpose of going with S. Columba, even 
though his going should be a source of sorrow to his parents. 

465-66. Cp. Ruth, i. 16, 17. 

472. Wast stad, wast placed, wast living. 

473. Has warpyst, hast thrown off, laid aside. 

477. Aparel, to fit out. Originally the word meant "to prepare," 
and then " to fit out." " Ki hedden aparail here offrendes." Old 
Eng. Misc., 26. "Ye oughte purveyen yow and apparaile yow in 
this caas with greet diligence." Chaucer, Melib., p. 375. "To 
aparaille met and drinke for hym." Knt. de la Tour, cii. 134. 

478. A bat sture, etc., a boat stored with provisions. 

480. With al, etc. St. Columba took with him twelve disciples, as 
was usual on all such occasions. The twelve, together with their 
leader, being supposed to represent Christ and his twelve apostles. 
Later on, when S. Machor is sent to preach in the island of Mull, he 
takes with him only seven companions. 

484. The mastir man, the captain of the boat. 

485. Of his tary, for his delay. 

486. Sa lethand, so unwilling. 

488-89. According to the usually received account, Columba and 
his disciples touched first at the Isle of Oronsay, where Columba 
landed, but on ascending a hill and finding that the shores of Ireland 
were still in sight, he re-embarked and sailed on to Iona, where they 
found that the shores of Ireland were no longer visible. 

491. Melluma must have known Columba in Ireland, as there is no 
record of Columba having visited Iona before. 

497. The carle mod, the man waded. 

508. Dry belongs to borne, not to land. 

512. Athyre . . . vihyre, either ... the other; they kissed each 
other. 

519. And when they had done as he said, i.e., prayed. 

524. Men may wele sayle in that He, men may easily sail to that isle. 

525. And as thai socht had, and when they had searched. 

526. A fare sted, a beautiful spot. 

527. Enhournyt, etc., adorned with many trees. 



NOTES. 173 

531. A mansione. Each monk had his own separate dwelling. See 
the lines following and the Introduction. 

538. Abot, abbot. S. Adamnan calls him "our Patron," "the 
Father and Founder of Monasteries." 

54 r. That mule kyckt, that was called Mull. 

542. The inference from this would seem to be that there were 
already in the island of Mull disciples of the Christian Faith. 

546. Sewin myssale vgly, seven unsightly lepers. 

55*. And gat hele, and got their cure, i.e., and were made whole. 

553- With a itewine. Cp. 1. 62, n. 

556. Owre al, everywhere in the island. 

560. The copying of the Gospels, Psalms, and other portions of 
the Scriptures was one of the principal occupations of the monks of 
Iona. S. Columba was himself a famous scribe and a great lover of 
beautiful MSS. The story of his secretly copying S. Finnian's Latin 
psalter and then quarrelling with him when he claimed the copy, and 
with King Diarmait, who adjudged the copy to S. Finnian on the 
ground that a copy made without the consent of the owner belonged 
to the latter, as every calf to its cow, is well known. 

566. A similar story is told of S. Fillan and of a Spanish monk. 

572. The common must mean here the rest of the monks or those 
who were envious of him. Cp. the next line. 

57 7-8. Then like evilly disposed men they must needs take counsel 
to put him to death. 

582. Ane innocent, perhaps the barne of 1. 570. Cp. 1. 585. 

583. So that he should the less suspect it. 

584. Myngyt, mingled. 

587. The suih hale : not that there was poison in the cup, but the 
truth as to who were its senders. The " innocent " seem to have 
known nothing about the poison. 

591. Brethyre fals, false brethren. 

599. And sanyt it, and made over it the sign of the Cross. 

601. Heldit done, turned down. Heldit is not the past tense of hold, 
but of helden, " to incline." 

606. Without feeling any hurt. 

608. As, what, or all that. 

616. Thus-gat, on this wise. 

617, etc. Machor by means of sorcery causes men to believe he 
does, etc. 



174 NOTES. 

6 1 8. Gem's of line 617 should be followed by the infinitive trow ; 
trowis is the present indicative. 

619, etc. And deceives simple men to their faces through the power 
of the devil. 

624. And he, if he. 

628. Sa spanly, so boldly. 

638. Mocht used here for mycht for the sake of the rhyme. 

639. Makand asyth, making satisfaction, appeasing, pleasing. Cp. 
1. 721-22. 

640. Of skath, out of harm. 

64 1 . With wilis dele, deal with wiles, i.e., have recourse to stratagems. 
643. A day, one day. 

648. Be na way, in no way. Cp. 1. 652. 

649. Thu wat, thou knowest. That quhyle, that once, that on one 
occasion. 

653. His printyse, His disciples. 

654. Oure way, everywhere. 
659. And bot of, and only of. 

660: Wrocht apparently means reck, think. If so, the whole line 
means, And care nothing for the salvation. 

662. Through want of instruction [in the Gospel] are lost. 
664. And of science slycht, and in knowledge skill. 

674. At in wane-treutht are, who are living in untruth, or without 
the knowledge of the truth. 

675. Bysyly, eagerly. 

678. It is good that I should do as you teach me. 
685. Possybilyti, ability. 
687. Taucht, delivered. 

689. Byschape staf bishop's staff. The sign of the possessive case 
is often omitted. Cp. 1. 775. 

690. Belt. In ancient times the "belt" or girdle was generally 
associated with the idea of active exertion, inasmuch as it served to 
confine and gird up the long flowing robes which, when unconfined, 
would interfere with all activity. It was also associated with the idea 
of chastity. Apparently it was first worn by the monks, and after- 
wards adopted from them as part of the episcopal dress. What the 
bestowal of the girdle meant in this case is not clear. S. Columba 
was not a bishop, and could not ordain S. Machor a bishop. He 
may have been ordained by one or more bishops who claimed to be 



NOTES. 175 

among S. Columba's disciples, though that is doubtful. Perhaps it 
was simply meant to remind Machor of the zeal with which his 
mission was to be prosecuted. 

691. And bukis. One would like to know what these books were. 
Probably they were copies of the Scripture or parts of them, and the 
office books. 

693. Ordenyt, appointed. A galay, a boat. 

694. Wytale, provisions, victuals. 

696. Of that which he knew was felony. 
699. Printeyss, disciples. Cp. 1. 653. 

702-703. Between these lines something appears to be wanting. 
703. And wat, you know, are aware. Wil one meyne, will think of 
it, will consider. 

705. Til infourme, to instruct. 

706. And to be mindful of salvation, or in things pertaining to 
salvation. 

707. For, because. 

708. And ek, etc., and also have my labour lost, i.e., have laboured 
in vain. 

711. Bowne, ready. 

716. Agane cheryte, against charity. 

729. Of now /eve, of new leave, i.e., again leave has taken. 

731. Mad wa, made woe, lamented. 

732. Thame worthy t, it behoved them. 

740. But distrowby lance, without trouble, safely. 

743. That Farcare bryght, that was called Farcare, or Farquhare. 

746. Quhen, whence. 

749. Quhen he sen had, when he had seen. 

750. For he had heard speech of him before. 

755. Abeowe the lawe, above all. 

756. Gest, guest. 

758. In double cheryte, in twofold charity ; that is, in love towards 
God and love towards men, as explained in the next lines. 

764. Thus for this. 

767. Waryt mot he, cursed may he be. 

768. Till he suffer thee to enjoy it freely., 
772. The place that was suitable for him. 
776. Fra, when. 

781. Bygyne, building. 



176 NOTES. 

782. Mystere, need. 

784. In thare degree. From this it would appear that the dwellings 
of his companions were not all of the same size or importance, but 
that there was a difference among them in these respects correspond- 
ing to the difference in their ecclesiastical rank. The phrase, however, 
is a note of the time of the author rather than of S. Machor's time. 

785. He gert wyrk, he caused to be wrought, i.e., built. 

786. Craftly, skilful. 

791. Swink, toil. 

792. Fawt of drynk, need of drink, i.e., water. 

795. Fusions, abundance. 

" The laif, that ran out throu the toune 
Sesit to thame in gret fusiounc 
Men, armyng, and marchandiss, 
And othir gudis on syndri viss." — The Bruce, ix. 439, 

800. Gat hele, got healing, were cured. 

802. That quhen that men mycht see. This is unintelligible. 

804. Pychtis, Picts. 

807. Vndirly, undergo, submit to. 

811. Dewynik, Devenik, Devenick, or Devinic. The legend of this 
Saint, whose name is not found in any of the Irish lists, is given by 
Bishop Forbes, Kal. Scot. SS., p. 323, as follows : — " When the 
blessed Fathers Columba and Mauricius were preaching in Scotland, 
Devinicus, a very old man, also flourished. He divided the work 
of the ministry between himself and Mauricius, going to the Pro- 
vincia Cathinorum (Caithness), while Mauricius went to the Picts. 
' S. Mauricius,' S. Devinicus said, ' now again we shall be joined. 
Even in the celestial life shall we for ever be joined together, and 
rejoice with Christ. But one thing I desire, that as death is at hand, 
when my time comes, let my body be brought to this place and be 
buried here.' The Saint agreed, and Devinicus went to the Cathini, 
preaching the Word. At length Devinicus came to die, and told 
them to take his body to one of the churches of Mauricius, mindful 
of his old engagement. And this was done. The following night 
S. Mauricius saw angels descending upon the church where the holy 
body lay, and said, 'A guest cometh, to whom we must pay honour ; ' 
but on coming they found not the body, for they who carried it, 
wishing to rest, had borne it to a place called Crostan. There they 
held vigil, and then they brought it to a place called Banquhory- 
Devynik, where a church was raised in his honour. See Brev. Aberd., 



NOTES. 177 

pars estiv., f. cix. a., and Coll. Sh. Aberd. and Banff, p. 267 sq. 
Boece calls him archdeacon, but King and others style him bishop. 
Though the legend represents him a contemporary with SS. Columba 
and Machor, the Scottish annalists place his death in a.d. 887 in the 
reign of Soluathius. The two Kings of this name, however, belong 
to the eighth century, a couple of centuries later than either of the 
two Saints with whom the legend makes Devinick contemporary. 
To make matters worse, Camerarius in his Kalendar, says that he 
was ' Episcopus in Anglia.' Devinick had, dedications at Banchory 
and Methlic in the diocese of Aberdeen, and at Creich in Sutherland- 
shire, where he is known as S. Teavneck." Smith's Diet. Christ. Bio. 
812. Yok, yoke, with reference to Our Lord's words: "Take My 
yoke upon you," etc. Matt. xi. 29. 

8 1 6. Felt folk, many people. 

817. Mony wise, in many ways. 

818. Mawmentis, idols; from the old French tnahommet, an idol. 
Chaucer and Piers Plowman have maumet ; the Prompt. Par. has 
mawment. During the middle ages the Mahommedans were regarded 
as worshippers of idols. Cervantes, who ought to have known better, 
speaks of them in that way. 

819. Nerhand nan to schav, nearly none to sow. Cp. 1. 829. 
821. The nerrest get, the shortest way. 

824. Wangel, gospel. The initial e is here, as elsewhere, dropped. 

825. Thus is evidently a mistake for thir, these. Lath to trew, 
reluctant to believe. 

827. Catness, Caithness. But mare gang, without more ado. 

829. Goddis vordto schaw, to sow God's word. Cp. 1. 819. 

831. Quhithir na we, etc., whether or not we, etc. 

833. Yhis, yeitforow Criste, yes, yet before Christ. 

834. Eft., afterwards. Bewiste, dwelling place. 

835. Ay lestand, everlasting. 

837. For death awaits me close at hand. 

838. Fra I be ganefra the, when I am gone from thee. 

840. Cause my body to be brought to this place. 

841. And cause it to be buried, etc. 

842. Ithandly, continually. 

849. The story of Devenick is resumed at 1. 1 149. 

852. Cristinit, christened, baptized. 

853. Master men, rulers, chiefs. 

T 



178 NOTES. 

854. To than, till then. 

856. Schauyng, showing. 

857. Wydquhare, everywhere. 

859. And thus gat, and in this way. 

860. Wynnare, gatherer. 

861. Tyd, he chanced. 

864. Defoull, spoil. 

865. Skath, harm. 

872. A yard statu, an earthfast stone. 

877. Payeme, heathen. 

879. Ven, imagine, believe. 

882. He ferlyt first, he first wondered. 

885. And or he, and before he. 

893. With-thi, see note to 1. 447. 

904. Hyne, thence. 

911. Reucht, pity. 

914. Oure corce, across. 

917. Allkine thinge, all kinds of things. 

927. Invirroune, encompassing. O. Fr. environner, "to environ, 
encompasse." Cotgrave. 

930. Greite, weeping. 

935- Ofkitie, etc., was near of kin. 

940. Lof=lifit, lived. 

942. Godis sede, God's disciples, the Church. 

943. Safeile, so many. 

944. Payene, heathen. Cp. 1. 877. 

947-948. This is usual ending of a legend. Here, however, it is 
probably not intended to indicate the conclusion of the life. Or, 
before. Cp. 1. 885. 

949. Scotland, cp. 1. 803. 

956. Tythand, tidings. 

957. Sum dele letteryt ware, were fairly well educated. 

960. Are, before. Cp. Legends of the Saints, 18, 557 ; 26, 117 ; 

30, 685 ; 39, 260 ; 48, 1032. 

964. Vndo, expound. 

967. Tyd, granted. 

" His nam sal be hatten Iohan, 
For drightin has the tyd thi bon." 

— C. M. (Cot.), 10966. 
See also Bradley under tiden. 



NOTES. 179 

972. Ruit, rued, regretted. 

974. Fane, ceased. 

975-6. His teaching and advice, they said, was pure mockery. 

978. Than reutngit was full tyt, they were full quickly punished. 

981. Gong, latrine. Goonge, privy; cloaca, latrina. Prompt. Par. 

983. Ware, spring. " Wayr, quoddam tempus," ver. Cath. Angl. 

" This wes in were, quhen vyntir tyde 
Vith his blastis, hydwiss to byde 
Wes ourdriffin." — The Bruce, v. 1-3. 

" Thou made all termys of erth ; somere and ware ; thou fourmyd 
tha." Hampole, Ps., 73, 18. 

*' The war Id begouth in veir baith day and nycht. " 

— G. Douglas, Aen., Bk. iv. 251. 

985. Forfaut qfweile tyd land, for want of good land. 

987. And though it was poor and dry. 

988. To saw, to sow. Ry, rye. 

989. In God's bounty trusting. 

999. Ternane, Ternan. S. Ternan, Archbishop of the Picts, is 
identified with Teranan of the Irish Calendars, the Abbot of Bangor, 
by Reeves, Todd, and Forbes, who connect him with SS. Palladius 
and Servanus. The Breviary of Aberdeen (pars hyem., fol. cv.), 
devotes six lections to him, and confuses the chronology by making 
him live in the time of S. Gregory. Bishop Forbes believes that the 
lections may be regarded as authentic, so far as they relate to Ternan's 
parentage and baptism by Palladius, and gives the following summary 
of his legend : " S. Ternan was born of noble parents in the province 
of Myrnia, and S. Palladius, divinely warned, baptised him. Hearing 
of the fame of S. Gregory, he betook himself to Rome to submit 
himself to his discipline. After seven years the Pope raised him to 
the episcopate, and sent him back to his own country to preach the 
Gospel to unbelievers there. A bell given him by the Pope miracu- 
lously followed him till he reached Albania. Convecturius, who was 
prince of that country, at first opposed the Saint, but, warned by 
miracle, he was baptized. In spring S. Macharius sent to him for 
seed ; having none, he returned the sack filled with sand, which he 
accordingly sowed, and reaped an excellent harvest." Dempster 
places his death at Abernethy. According to the Mariyrology of 
Aberdeen (c. a.d. 1500), his head, with the tonsured surface still un- 
corrupt, was preserved at Banchory-Ternan, along with his gospel of 



i8o NOTES. 

S. Matthew, being one of the " evangelistarum quatuor voluminibus 
metallo inclusis, argento auro texto in superficia fabricatis." At the 
same place was preserved the ronecht or bell of S. Ternan, which had 
a hereditary keeper, with " deray croft" (Eeg. Episc. Aber., i. 327, 
328). His relics were preserved at the Cathedral of Aberdeen in a 
monstrance in the treasury {Ibid., ii. 185). But the most important 
remains connected with the name of S. Ternan is the "Liber Ecclesiae 
Sancti Terrenani de Arbuthnott Missale secundum Usum Ecclesiae 
Sancti Andreae in Scotia," written by James Sybald, vicar of Arbuth- 
nott, and finished February 22, 1491-92. The original is in the 
Free Library and Museum at Paisley, and is especially valuable as 
being the only complete missal of the Scottish use known to be 
extant. It was edited by Bishop Forbes and the Rev. H. G. Forbes, 
and published at Burntisland in 1864. See the articles in Smith's 
Diet, of Christ. Biogr., and Forbes' Kal. of Scot. SS., p. 450. 
1000. Sa hym, tell him. 

1005. Tyt, quickly, suddenly, 

1006. Clewit, stuck. 

1007. Was sare agaste, was sore afraid. 

1008. Mycht swely, could swallow. For na slicht, by no skill. The 
meaning of the line is that do what he would he was unable to swallow it. 

1 010. Wrache, wretch. Wondir wa, terribly alarmed. 

1013. Mony herd sckure, many a hard cut. 

1 01 7. That acht was, that was due. 

10 1 9. To those with whom he was most intimate. 

102 1. Goddis man, man of God. 

1024. His mengye, his followers. 

1026. Forgeivine, forgiveness. Forgevynge, forgevenesse. Prompt. 
Par. 

1027. Nytit, denied, refused. 
1030. That erth, that land. 
1035. Wtste, knew. 

1039. Treisfare. At the time and for long afterwards churches in 
Ireland and Britain were built of wood. See Bede's Hist. Eccl., 
Bk. ii. 14, and Dr. Plummer's notes thereon, vol. ii. pp. 101-2. Also 
Reeves' Adamnan, p. 177, and Dr. Stuart's Preface to the Book of 
Deer, chap. ii. The church referred to in the text was most probably 
built, like that erected by S. Finan at Lindisfarne, on the model of 
that at Iona, 



NOTES. 181 

1050. A story similar to this is told of S. Kentigern. See his Life 
by Jocelin. 

1063. Furth-schewere, forth shower, shower forth, revealer. 

1065. To cun, to know. 

1077. Halist, embraced. In the next line it is written "hailist." 

1079. Then did each the other kiss. 

1080. Herbry, lodging. 

1087. Entrechangeably, mutually. 

1089. For " than " probably " that " ought to be read. 

1 100. Sermonyng, intercourse. 

1 102. As long as they sat at the table. 

1 104. Gastlyfud, spiritual food. 

1 1 12. Wonderit was, etc., was amazed at. 

1 113. Unwit, ignorance. 

1 1 18. Godis priuile, the secrets of God. 

1 1 1 9. Witine be, be known. 

1 1 20. Ma strek thartill, may reach thereto, penetrate them, 
i iai. Kindly, natural. 

1 1 22. Forseyng, foresight, Providence. 

1 1 23. Witting, knowledge. 

1 1 30. For who is there that may know God's mind ? 

1131. Hey or law, high or low. 

1 132. Deme, judge. 

1 133. All His gattis, all His ways. Sochi, sought out. 

1 135. To inquire into that which exceeds man's power to com- 
prehend. 

1 139. Nicht nere, come near, approach. 

1153. Dedstra, death straw, death bed. S. Columba lay upon a stone. 

1 161. Meyne, think. 

1 162. Hicht, promise. 

1164. Ofspek, of speech, speaking. 

1 165. Andyaulde, etc., and gave up the ghost. 
1 170. Leutynd, dwelling place. 

1175. But slepe, without sleep. Haile, wholly. 

1 185. Brethir, brethren. 

1 186. Gestenere, guest. The word is dissyllabic. 
1 188. A spe is apparently redundant. 

1 1 90. Ws acht, it behoves us. 
1 197. Creskane, Crostan. 



182 NOTES. 

1 198. And stayed there with the intention of resting. 

1 199. Freste, delay. 

1204. Ony wink, any wink, any sleep. 

1 807. Grathit, prepared. 

1209. One, on, over. 

1220. Fane nocht, ceased not, i.e., to journey. 

1233. Yare, ready. 

1239. Or, before. 

1240. Dowme, thought. 

1 24 1. Swink and swet, toil and sweat. 

1243. Petir and Paule, the churches of SS. Peter and Paul. 

1249. Gregor, S. Gregory, but this is a mistake. The chronology 
is confused. 

1260. Vndone, explained. 

1275. Morise, Maurice, or Mauritius. 

1284. Tike deile, every part. 

1293. To vyne, to win. 

1295. Wangeliste, evangelist. 

1298. Vnreprofit, unreprovable, blameless. 

1303. One this kine wise, in this kind of way. 

1309. Or thai wald fyne, before they would stop. Fyne is from 
O. Fr. finer, to end, finish. 

1 31 1. Ware cumyne, were come. Apon chaunce, by accident. 
This would seem to argue that they had no intention originally of 
coming this way. 

131 2. Toroue, Tours. 

13 16. Purwayt, provided. Cp. mod. Engl, purvey. 

1 3 1 7. Andgertfynd thaim, and caused food to be furnished to them. 
13 1 9. Schauyt, showed. 

1 32 1. Thankfull, grateful, well-pleasing, acceptable. 
1325-26. But S. Columba that would in no way for no request be 
absent from his country. 
1327. Wayag, journey. 

1 33 1. Thole ane of Ms, permit one of those who were with him. 
1335. Haffandferly, having wonder, in astonishment. 

1338. This were, doubt, difficulty. 

1339. Quhemfull, pleasing. 

1346. Are, heir, i.e., Machor should be with Martin and Columba 
an heir of heaven and a companion. 



NOTES. 183 

1350. Strenth, strengthen. 

1354. Hanks, entangles, binds, holds. 

1355. Curss, course. 
1358. Werdoune, reward. 

1360. He buskit hym, etc., he made himself ready to go. 

1363. A wile, a while. 

1366. Aleyne, alone. 

1369. Or but lewe, or without permission. 

1377. And after the strife of that course. 

1385. Fandit, tried. 

1403. Quhar he, etc., where was buried. 

1406. Daynte, esteem. 

1407. Quhen he, etc., when he did die. 
1410. He buskit him. See note to 1. 1360. 
1414. Aferway, a long way. 

1416. Oflawide men, of laymen. 
1420. The departynge, the separation. 
1422. Hym dycht, prepared himself. 

1425. Lof God in hicht, praise God on high. 

1426. Blissis, bless. Blessis is the old form of the imperative. 

1427. He, etc., exalt His name in every way. 

1430. Benefice has ekit, benefits has increased. 

1 43 1. Twrane, Tours. 

1433. Batrone, example. O. Fr. patron ; patron, pattern. "Patrone, 
forme to werk by, exemplar." Prompt. Par., 386. 

1434. Llone, lent. O. E. lanan, to lend. 

1439. Samplar, example. Cp. mod. Engl, sampler. 

1440. His kyne, his kindred. 
1443. Keyne, kindred. 
1446. Gud kepe, good heed. 

1451. Hewyt vpe, lifted up. 

1452. Lowit, praised. 

1456. Ar went, are gone. The phrase is still in use. 

1457. Saule-hyrd, bishop of their souls. 

1458. Byrde, became, behoved. 

1464. To demayne, to use. The whole of the story of the journey 
to Rome and Tours is said to have been taken from the Acts of 
S. Eugene of Ardstraw and from the legend of S. Machor, but in the 
epitome of these Acts in the possession of Colgan, there was no 



184 NOTES. 

reference to it. In the catalogue of the Bishops of Tours by 
Claudius Robert, there is no mention of a Mochonna, Macarius, 
Mauritius, or Machor. CHanlon, iv. 527. 

1465. Dowme, decision. 

1472. He tacht thaim till, he delivered to them. 

1489. And till it, etc., and while he happened. 

1500. Will gtr men cheuire, will cause men to shiver. 

1503. With sic herd stryfe, with such hard strife. 

1506. Orator, oratory, chapel. 

1513. Lowit be, praised be [he]. 

15 16. To be lousit, to be loosed. 

1517. For it nedis me nocht, for there is no need for me. 
1528. And nehtbour lof, and brotherly love. 

1530. Dissessit, distressed. 
1539. Deuod, to leave. 

1546. The takine of the cors, the sign of the cross. 

1547. Thar froynttis, their foreheads. 

1548. And here, and hear. 

1557. With me wone, with me dwell. 
1564. And it, i.e., his soul. 

1569. For the nanys, for the nonce. The old form was for then 
anes, for the once, where then is the dat. case of the Article. Skeat, 
Glossary to The Bruce, sub voce. 

1570. Ennormyt, adorned. 

1577. Fferly werkis, wonderful works. 

1578. Tofereme, to confirm. 

1579. In lofyng, in praise. 

1580. And the lawe, and the rest, i.e., other worlds or the rest of 
the universe. 

1589. Bute, help. 

1590. Schank, shank, limb. 

1 59 1. Speke, the faculty of speech. 
1593. Parlesy, palsy. 

1595. Ydropesy, dropsy. 

1597. Swampe, thin, lithe. 

1599. Brawne-wod, insane. 

1600. Wterly tynt it, utterly lost it. 
1605. Quhatkine, whatever. 



APPENDICES. 



APPENDICES. 



I. 

THE LIFE OF NINIAN, BY AILRED OF RIEVAUX. 

Prologue. 

Many wise men of the past have endeavoured to commit to writing 
the words, manners, and lives of the Saints, more especially of those 
who were illustrious in their own day, in order to preserve the example 
of their more perfect life from oblivion, and to perpetuate their memory 
for the edification of posterity. Those who were distinguished by 
their ability, copious diction and splendid eloquence did this the 
more profitably in proportion, as they gratified the ears of their 
hearers with the charms of a graceful style. And even those from 
whom, by reason of the barbarism in which they lived, the faculty of 
writing in a graceful and elegant manner was withheld, did not fail, 
though in a more simple style, to communicate to posterity some 
account of those who ought to be imitated. Hence it is, that the life 
of the most holy Ninian, commended to us by the sanctity of his 
ways and his well-known miracles, was obscured by a barbarous lan- 
guage, and the less it pleased the reader the less it edified him. It 
has therefore pleased your reverence to lay upon me, insignificant 
though I am, the task of rescuing the life of this most renowned man, 
written truthfully enough by my predecessors, but in too barbarous a 
style, from a rustic dialect, as from darkness, and of bringing it forth 
into the clear light of the Latin tongue. I esteem your devotion, 
approve your desire, and applaud your zeal ; but I am conscious of 
my inability, and fear I may only strip him of the coarse garment in 
which he has hitherto been hid, and not be able to array him in a 
more comely garb. But since I am unable to refuse that which you 



188 APPENDICES. 

enjoin, I shall endeavour to obey your command, preferring that you 
should deem me incompetent rather than obstinate. For it may be 
that what incompetence denies, your faith will supply, your prayer 
obtain, your sanctity secure. He also, for whose honour and love 
you desire me to do this work, will himself assist your pious vows and 
aspirations, and aid me in my study and endeavour. Moreover, by 
his merits you trust that there may be given to me the tongue of the 
learned and facility of speech. To this must be added your assur- 
ance that the clergy and people of your holy Church, who are moved 
with great affection for this holy one of God, and live beneath his 
protection, will receive with the greatest reverence whatever I may 
write, because, as you say, they have unanimously desired that you 
should assign this work to me. Therefore that which you lay upon 
me I undertake, moved indeed by your prayers, but animated by 
faith ; and as far as He who maketh the tongues of infants eloquent 
will deign to aid me, I shall endeavour so to temper my style that no 
offensive rudeness may obscure so high a theme, and that the sim- 
plicity of those who are unacquainted with the profuseness of rhetoric 
may not be defrauded of the desired fruit of my labour by a prolixity 
of speech more wearisome than eloquent. May the grace of the 
Saviour breathe upon the undertaking now begun ; may He who 
bestows upon His Saint the virtues whereby he is deemed meet to be 
held in everlasting remembrance, make us who record them worthy ; 
may He render unto us the reward of our labour, that in the way by 
which we hasten to our fatherland, his prayer may always be with us : 
and in the hour of our departure, when we look for the end of the 
way and the beginning of life, may his consolation be near us, and 
for the sake of his holy merits may we attain at last to the eternal 
reward of the good things in heaven. 



Preface. 

Testimony of Bede Concerning Ninian, with the Observations of 

Ailred. 

The glorious life of the most holy Ninian is commended to us by that 
same divine authority which from the beginning is acknowledged to 
have made the holy patriarch Abraham the father of many nations and 



LIFE OF NINIAN. 189 

a prince of the faith predestined from of old by such an oracle as this: 
" Get thee out from thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy 
father's house unto a land that I will show thee, and I will make of 
thee a great nation." In like manner the most blessed Ninian, having 
left the country and home of his father, learned in a foreign land that 
which he afterwards taught in his own, and was set by the Lord over 
nations and kingdoms, to overthrow and destroy, to plant and to 
build. Of this most blessed man, when commending to us in the 
fewest words the sacred beginnings of his life and the signs of his 
holiness, the dignity of his office and the fruit of his ministry, his most 
excellent end and the reward of his labour, the Venerable Bede, in 
his Ecclesiastical History of his own nation, writes as follows : " In 
the year of the Incarnation of our Lord, 565, at the time when Justin 
the Less had, after Justinian, received the government of the Roman 
Empire, there came to Britain from Ireland a presbyter and abbot, 
remarkable for his habit and rule, by name Columba, to preach the 
Word of God in the provinces of the Northern Picts ; that is, to those 
who were separated from the Southern regions by lofty and rugged 
mountains. For the Southern Picts, who have their dwellings among 
the same mountains, had long before abandoned the error of idolatry 
and received the faith in the truth at the preaching of the Word by 
Ninian, a most reverend bishop and a most holy man, of the nation 
of the Britons, who had been regularly instructed at Rome in the 
faith and mysteries of the truth, the seat of whose bishopric, dedicated 
to the bishop S. Martin, and a remarkable church, where he rests in 
the body with many saints, is now in the possession of the nation of 
the Angles. That place which belongs to the province of the Bernicii, 
is commonly called Ad Candidam Casam (At the White House), 
because he there built a church of stone, a thing unusual among the 
Britons." What Bede here briefly narrates, I will now (God willing) 
more fully set forth. 

On the trustworthy authority of so great a writer, we are informed : 
first, as to the origin of this man, inasmuch as he states that he was of 
the race of the Britons and was instructed in the rules of faith in the 
Holy Roman Church ; secondly, as to his office, because he declares 
that he was a bishop and a preacher of the Word of God ; thirdly, as 
to the fruit of his labours, because he proves that by his labours the 
Southern Picts were converted from idolatry to the true faith ; and 
finally, as to his end, inasmuch as he testifies that he rests along with 



igo APPENDICES. 

many saints in the Church of S. Martin. But what the Venerable 
Bede here, as the character of his History seemed to require, appears 
to have touched upon but briefly, a book of the Life and Miracles of 
S. Ninian, written in a barbarous tongue, sets forth in greater detail ; 
which book, never varying from the foundation of this testimony, has 
recorded after the manner of history, the way in which he made 
a beginning, how he merited such fruit, and how he attained so 
worthy an end. 



Chapter I. 

Birth and Education of Ninian. 

Blessed Ninian was born in an island, which is said to have received 
its name of Britain from Brutus, among a people of the same name, 
and of a not ignoble family. The district in which he is supposed to 
have been born, is on the western side of the island, where the ocean, 
stretching out as an arm, and making, as it were, on either side two 
angles, divides the Kingdom of the Scots from the Kingdom of the 
Angles. This region, until the most recent times, belonged to the 
Angles, as is proved not only by the records of history but also by the 
actual memory of individuals, and had a King of its own. S. Ninian's 
father was a King and by religion a Christian. He was of such faith 
and merit towards God that he was deemed worthy to have an off- 
spring by whom the things lacking in the faith of his people might be 
supplied, and by whom a nation of another race, who knew not the 
sacraments of the faith, might be imbued with the mysteries of our 
holy religion. Even in his infancy Ninian, being born again by the 
water of holy baptism, preserved the nuptial robe which he received 
when clad in white, immaculate, and a conqueror of vices presented 
it in the presence of Christ. That Holy Spirit whom he first received 
for his purification, he merited by his most holy life to retain as the 
enlightener of his holy heart. For while yet a boy, though not with 
the thoughts of a boy, whatever was contrary to religion, adverse to 
chastity, opposed to good manners, or at variance with the laws of 
truth, he, through His guidance, shunned. But whatsoever was of 
the law of grace, or of good report, whatsoever was of use to man, or 
acceptable before God, he did not cease to follow with a mind already 
matured. Happy was he whose delight was in the law of the Lord 



LIFE OF NINIAN. 191 

day and night, who, as a tree planted by rivers of water, brought forth 
his fruit in due season, when in the vigour of manhood, he strenuously 
fulfilled that which he had learned with the greatest zeal. His devo- 
tion toward the churches was wonderful ; wonderful also was his love 
to the brethren. He was sparing in food, few in words, diligent in 
reading, and agreeable in manners ; but jesting he avoided, and con- 
tinually subjected the flesh to the spirit. Accordingly, directing his 
mind to the Holy Scriptures, when he had learned from certain of the 
more learned men of his own race the rules of Faith according to their 
way, the young man came, by reason of his quick intelligence, to 
understand, through the divine inspiration he had gathered from the 
Scriptures, that there were many things wanting to the perfection of 
these rules. At this his mind began to be troubled, and not enduring 
that he should be less than perfect, he was greatly afflicted and 
sighed ; " his heart was hot within him, and while he mused the fire 
burned." "And what," he said, "what shall I do? In mine own 
land I have sought Him whom my soul loveth, and have found Him 
not. I will arise and compass sea and land ; I will seek the truth 
which my soul loveth. Surely it needeth such toil as this ? Was it 
not said to Peter : ' Thou art Peter, and on this rock will I build my 
Church, and the gates of Hell shall not prevail against it ' ? There- 
fore, in the faith of Peter there is nothing wanting, nothing obscure, 
nothing imperfect, nothing against which false doctrine, nor perverse 
opinions, any more than the gates of Hell, can prevail. And where 
is the faith of Peter but in the See of Peter? Thither, thither must I 
go, that going out from my country, and from my kindred, and from 
my father's house, I may be deemed meet in the land of vision 
to behold the will of the Lord, and to be sheltered in His temple. 
The false prosperity of the ages smiles upon me, the vanity of the 
world entices me, the love of kindred allures me, toil and the weari- 
ness of the flesh deter me. ' But he who loveth father and mother 
more than me,' saith the Lord, 'is not worthy of me.' ' And he who 
taketh not up his cross and followeth me is not worthy of me.' I have 
learned, moreover, that they who despise the royal court shall attain 
to the kingdom of heaven." Wherefore, animated by the impulse of 
the Holy Spirit, spurning riches, and treading down all earthly affec- 
tions, this noble youth set out on his pilgrimage, crossed the Britannic 
sea, and entering Italy by the Gallican Alps, arrived, after a prosperous 
journey, at the city of Rome. 



192 APPENDICES. 



Chapter II. 

He arrives at Rome and is consecrated Bishop by the Pope. His inter- 
course with S. Martin and his Return to his Native Land. 

Having arrived at Rome, this most blessed young man, when he had 
shed tears, the signs of his devotion, before the sacred relics of the 
Apostles, and commended the desire of his heart with many prayers 
to their protection, presented himself before the Bishop of the 
Supreme See, by whom, when he had explained the reason of his 
journey, his devotion was accepted, and he himself received into the 
greatest affection and treated as a son. Soon the Pope placed him 
under teachers of the truth, to be instructed in the disciplines of the 
faith and in the sound doctrines of Scripture. But the young man, 
full of God, observed that he had not laboured in vain, nor to no 
purpose ; he learnt, also, that he and many of his countrymen had 
been imbued by unskilful teachers with many things contrary to 
sound doctrine. Therefore with all eagerness, with open mouth, 
receiving the word of God, like a bee, he formed for himself the 
honeycombs of wisdom by arguments drawn from the opinions of dif- 
ferent teachers, as from flowers of many kinds. And hiding them in 
the recesses of his heart, he preserved them to be inwardly digested, 
and afterwards brought forward for the instruction of his own inner 
man, and for the comfort of many others. Truly, it was a worthy 
recompense, that he who for love of truth despised country, wealth, 
and pleasures, brought, as I may say, into the secret chambers of the 
truth and admitted to the very treasuries of wisdom and knowledge, 
should receive for things carnal things spiritual, for things earthly 
things heavenly, and for benefits temporal eternal blessings. Mean- 
time, being spoken of by all as chaste in body, prudent in mind, 
sagacious in counsel, and circumspect in every word and deed, it came 
to pass that he rose to the favour and friendship of the Supreme 
Pontiff himself. 

Accordingly, having lived after a praiseworthy manner for many 
years in the City, and having been sufficiently instructed in the Sacred 
Scriptures, he attained to the height of virtue, and, borne on the 
wings of love, was raised to the contemplation of celestial things. 
Then the Roman Pontiff hearing that some in the western parts of 
Britain had not yet received the faith of our Saviour, and that others 
had heard the word of the Gospel either from heretics or from men 



LIFE OP NINIAN. 193 

insufficiently acquainted with the law of God, and moved by the Spirit 
of God, did, with his own hands, consecrate the said man of God to 
the Episcopate, and, having bestowed upon him his benediction, 
appointed him an Apostle to the promised people. 

There flourished at this time the most blessed Martin, Bishop of the 
city of Tours, whose life, resplendent with miracles, and already de- 
scribed by that most learned and holy man, Sulpicius, had illumined the 
whole world. When returning, therefore, from the city, Ninian, full of 
the Spirit of God, was touched with the desire of seeing him, and turned 
aside to the city of Tours. With what joy, devotion, and affection he 
was received, who shall easily tell ? For verily by grace, as of pro- 
phetic illumination, the virtue of the new Bishop was not hid from the 
holy Bishop of Tours. God having revealed it to him, he knew that 
he was sanctified by the Spirit, and was about to be set forth for the 
salvation of many. These pillars in the tabernacle of the Lord 
are joined together, and the two cherubim, expanding their wings, 
touch each other; sometimes raised on the wings of virtue they soar 
to God, sometimes standing and folding their wings, they edify one 
another. But withdrawing from these exalted things to what is 
earthly, the blessed Ninian desired of the Saint masons, saying that, 
as in faith so also in the manner of constructing churches and in the 
ordering of ecclesiastical institutions, he proposed to himself to imitate 
the holy Roman Church. The most blessed man yielded to his 
request; and so, satisfied with their mutual intercourse as with 
heavenly feasts, after embraces and kisses, and tears shed by each, 
S. Martin remained in his own see, and Ninian hastened, with Christ 
as his leader, to the work whereto he was sent by the Spirit. On 
reaching his own country a great multitude of the people went out to 
meet him. Great was the joy of all, wonderful the devotion ; every- 
where resounded the praise of Christ, for all regarded him as a pro- 
phet. Straightway this diligent husbandman, having entered upon 
the field of his Lord, began to root out that which had been wrongly 
planted, to scatter that which had been wrongly collected, and to 
destroy that which had been wrongly built. Then, the minds of the 
faithful being purged of every error, he began to lay in them the 
foundations of the true faith, building thereon the gold of wisdom, and 
the silver of knowledge, and the stones of good works ; and all the 
things requiring to be done by the faithful, he both taught by word 
and illustrated by examples, and likewise confirmed with many and 

great miracles. 

w 



i$4 APPENDICES. 

Chapter III. 

The Foundation of the Church of Whithorn. 

He chose a site for himself in the place which is now called Whithorn. 
This place is situated on the shore of the ocean, and, running far out 
into the sea, is enclosed by the sea itself on the east, west, and south, 
the way being open to those who would approach it only on the north. 
Here, therefore, by the command of the man of God, the masons, 
whom he had brought with him, built a church, before which, they 
say, no other had been built in Britain of stone. And, inasmuch as 
he learned that the most holy Martin, whom he always venerated with 
wondrous affection, had now passed away from the earth to the 
heavens, he was careful to dedicate it to his honour. 



Chapter IV. 

He Heals and Converts King Tudvallus. 

Therefore this light set upon a candlestick began to shine forth with 
heavenly signs, and with the radiant flames of virtue, upon those who 
were in the house of God, to enlighten darkened minds with the clear 
and burning word of the Lord, and to kindle those who were cold in 
heart. There was a certain king in that region (for the whole island 
was divided and subject to divers kings) by name Tudvallus, whom 
riches, power and honour had excited to pride ; for the lust of the 
flesh and the lust of the eyes, and the riches of the world, incite to 
pride and haughtiness, inasmuch as the more any one has, the more 
he thinks he is able to do, and the more he believes is permitted to 
him. This man, despising the warnings of the man of God, both 
depreciated his doctrines arid manners in secret and opposed his 
sound teaching to his face, so that the earth seemed rejected and 
nigh to being accursed, seeing that, though often drinking in the rain 
which came upon it, it brought forth thorns and thistles, and not 
wholesome herbs. But on a certain occasion when he had troubled 
the man of God more than usual, the Heavenly Judge suffered the 
injury of His servant to go unavenged no longer, but struck the 
haughty one on the head with an intolerable disease, and broke the 
crown of the head of him who was walking in his sins. And so much 
did his sickness increase that blindness suddenly darkened those 



LIFE OF NINIAN. 195 

proud eyes, and he who had fought against the light of truth, lost the 
light of the body ; but not in vain nor to the increase of his folly. 
For as the wretched man lay oppressed with pain and deprived of 
sight, he was illumined within, though in darkness without, and when 
he came to himself, he confessed his sin, seeking a remedy from him 
alone whom he had always oppressed. At last, having summoned his 
kindred and taken their advice, since he was himself unable to go, 
being detained by his infirmity, he sent messengers to the man of God, 
beseeching him not to enter into judgment with his servant, neither to 
reward him according to his deeds, but, as an imitator of the Divine 
benignity, to return him good for evil, and love for hate. Hearing 
this, the most blessed man, not elated with human pride, but abound- 
ing, as always, in the bowels of compassion, having first prayed to 
God, went straight to the sick man with the greatest humility and 
devotion. At first he corrected him with gentle reproof, then he 
touched the head of the sick man with healing hand and impressed 
on the blind eyes the sign of saving life. What more shall I say ? 
Pain fled, blindness was driven away by the incoming light. And so 
it came to pass that sickness of the body cured the sickness of the 
soul, and the sickness of the body was expelled by the virtue which 
proceeded from the man of God. Healed therefore in both, in body 
and soul, the king began with all affection to revere and venerate the 
man of God, knowing by experience both that the Lord was with him, 
directing all his ways and giving him power over every one who 
exalted himself against the knowledge of Christ, and that He would 
speedily avenge every act of disobedience and every injury done to the 
servants of Christ. If, therefore, this contemptuous and proud man, 
by the grace of humility and penitence was deemed meet to be healed 
by the most holy man, who shall doubt that he who with an unfeigned 
faith and a sincere and humble heart, implores the aid of so great a 
man for the healing of the wounds of his spirit, shall not also receive 
a speedy remedy through his holy merits ? But let us now pass to 
other matters, which seem to be so much the greater in proportion as 
they are proved to be contrary to nature. 



196 APPENDICES. 

Chapter V. 

He Vindicates the Innocence of a Presbyter accused of Violation. 

In the service of one of the noblemen there was a certain girl, who 
according to the sinful flesh, was of a beautiful countenance and 
goodly to look upon. There was also an unchaste youth who, when 
he had cast his eyes upon her, was seized with a blind passion 
of love ; and, being unable to subdue the flame of the lust he had 
conceived, he began to urge her to consent to sin. At length, either 
by solicitation or gifts, he so wrought that she conceived sorrow and 
brought forth iniquity. The wretched woman yielded herself to the 
other's lust, little thinking of the judgment of God, though hoping to 
escape the eyes of men. But her crime was betrayed, and soon 
laughter was turned into weeping, joy into sorrow, pleasure into 
punishment. What could she do ? Whither should she turn ? The 
law, her parents, and her master were feared. Wherefore the unhappy 
woman made a covenant with death, and placed her hope in a lie, 
believing that she would appear less guilty if she said that she 'had 
been deceived or forced by some man of position. When therefore 
she was compelled by the elders to confess the name of her paramour, 
she laid the crime of her violation at the door of the presbyter to 
whom the bishop had entrusted the care of the parish. All who 
heard her confession were astonished to think that the crime should 
have been committed by a man in such a position, and absolved her. 
Accordingly the good were scandalized, the evil-disposed made merry, 
the common people laughed, the sacred order was scoffed at by the 
impious, and sorrow seized the presbyter, whose reputation was 
assailed. But the innocence of the priest was not hid from the 
beloved soldier of God, since it was revealed to him by the Spirit. 
Nevertheless he did not lightly bear the scandal which had befallen 
the Church and the injury done to holy religion. At length the days 
of the woman were accomplished that she should bring forth, and she 
brought forth a son, not, as was supposed, to the shame of the priest, 
but to that of the father and her shameless self. For when the 
bishop, having summoned the clergy and all the people to the church, 
had exhorted them in a sermon and laid his hands on those who had 
been baptized, this wanton woman, casting aside all shame, pushed 
herself forward along with those who belonged to her among the 
people, thrust the child into the face of the presbyter, and shouted in 



LIFE OF N INI AN. 197 

the ears of all the congregation, that he was the father of the child, 
her violator and deceiver. Clamour arose among the people ; among 
the good, shame ; among the wicked, laughter ; but the Saint com- 
manding the people to be silent, directed the child, which was then 
but one night old, to be brought to him ; and being inspired by the 
Spirit of God, fixed his eyes upon him, and said : "Hearken, O child! 
in the name of Jesus Christ, say here, in the presence of the people, 
whether this presbyter begat thee." O marvel ! O worthy of all 
admiration ! O the marvellous clemency of God ! O the ineffable 
power of the Christian faith ! Verily, to him that believeth, all things 
are possible ! But what do I say ? To the faith of Ninian what was 
not possible? Truly, nature yieldeth to faith, and age to virtue. And 
why should not nature yield to the Lord of Nature ? Age was not 
needed for an instrument, nor teaching for an office, nor time for 
practice, but by the effectual working of faith the Divine Power made 
the infant eloquent, and out of the mouth of a babe and suckling con- 
founded the guilty, convicted the liar, and absolved the innocent. 
Accordingly, out of the body of an infant there proceeded the voice 
of a man ; an untaught tongue framed intelligent words, and stretching 
forth his right hand,, the child singled out among the people his real 
father, saying : " That is my father; he begat me ; he committed the 
crime which is laid against the priest. Of a truth, O bishop, thy 
presbyter is innocent of this offence ; between him and me there is 
naught save community in the same nature." This was enough. The 
child then became silent, to speak afterwards according to the law of 
nature and in the process of increasing years. Immediately resound 
in the mouth of all thanksgiving and the voice of praise. All the 
people exulted with joy, seeing that a great prophet had arisen among 
them, and because God had visited his people. 



Chapter VI. 

He undertakes the Conversion of the Picts. He returns Home. 

Meanwhile the most blessed man, grieved that the devil, who had 
been driven out of the region beside the ocean, had found for himself 
a dwelling place in a corner of the island in the hearts of the Picts, 
girded himself as a strong wrestler to overthrow his kingdom, and put 
on, moreover, the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation, the breast- 



198 APPENDICES. 

plate of charity, and sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God. 
Equipped with such arms and surrounded by a company of his holy 
brethren, as by a heavenly host, he invaded the empire of the strong 
man armed, to rescue from his power innumerable vessels of captivity. 
Wherefore going to the Southern Picts, among whom the error of the 
Gentiles still prevailed, compelling them to venerate and worship 
idols deaf and dumb, he preached the truth of the Gospel and the 
purity of the Christian Faith, the Lord working with him and confirm- 
ing his words with signs following. The blind receive their sight, the 
lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, 
the oppressed of the devil are delivered. A door is opened for the 
Word of God ; by the grace of the Holy Spirit faith is received, error 
abandoned, temples cast down, and churches built. To the font of 
the saving laver, rich and poor, young men and maidens, old and 
young, and mothers with their children hasten, and renouncing Satan 
with all his works and pomps, are joined to the body of the believers 
by faith, confession, and the sacraments. They give thanks to the 
most merciful God, that in the isles which are afar off he had revealed 
His name, sending to them a preacher of the truth, a lamp of salva- 
tion, and calling them His people which were not His people, and 
them beloved which were not beloved, and them as having obtained 
mercy which had not obtained mercy. Then the holy bishop began 
to ordain presbyters, to consecrate bishops, to distribute the other 
dignities of the ecclesiastical orders, and to divide the whole land into 
parishes with fixed bounds. Finally, having confirmed, in faith and 
good works, his children whom he had begotten in Christ, and having 
set in order all things which seemed to be necessary to the honour of 
God and for the salvation of souls, he bade farewell to the brethren, 
and returned to his own church, where in great tranquillity of soul, he 
spent a life perfect in all sanctity and glorious in miracles. 



Chapter VII. 

The Miracle among the Leeks. 

It happened on a certain day that the holy man went with his 
brethren into the refectory to dine, and seeing no pot-herbs or 
vegetables on the table, he called the brother who was entrusted with 
the care of the garden, and enquired why on that day no pot-herbs or 



LIFE OF N INI AN. 199 

vegetables were set before the brethren. He replied: "Truly, O 
Father, whatever remained of the leeks and such like, I to-day com- 
mitted to the ground, and the garden has not yet produced anything 
fit for eating." Then said the Saint : " Go, and whatever thy hand 
findeth, gather and bring to me." Amazed, he stood trembling, 
hesitating what to do. But knowing that Ninian could command 
nothing in vain, he went slowly to the garden. Then happened a 
marvellous thing, credible to those alone who think that nothing is 
impossible to him that believeth j for he saw leeks and other kinds of 
vegetables not only grown but bearing seed. He was astonished, and 
as if in a trance, thought he saw a vision. At length coming to him- 
self and remembering the power of the holy man, he gave thanks to 
God, and gathering as many as seemed sufficient, he set them on the 
table before the bishop. The guests looked at each other, and with 
one heart and voice magnified God working in his saints, and so with- 
drew refreshed much more in mind than in body. 



Chapter VIII. 

Of the Animals and the Thieves. 

It sometimes pleased the most holy Ninian to visit his herds and the 
huts of his shepherds, desiring that the flocks which he had gathered 
together for the use of the brethren, and also for the poor and the 
pilgrims, should be partakers of the episcopal benediction. Therefore 
the animals being collected together into one place, when the servant 
of the Lord had looked upon them, he raised his hands and com- 
mended himself and all that he had to the Divine protection. Then 
going round, he marked off with the staff on which he was wont to 
lean, a little field in which he enclosed the cattle, and commanded 
that all within that circle should remain during the night under the 
Divine protection ; and having done this, the man of God turned 
aside to rest for the night in tbe house of a certain honourable 
matron. But after they had refreshed their bodies with food and 
their minds with the Word of God, and all had given themselves to 
sleep, thieves came ; and seeing that the cattle were neither enclosed 
by walls, nor protected by hedges, nor surrounded by a dyke, they 
searched about to see if there were any watchers, or anything to pre- 
vent them from carrying the cattle off. And when they found that 



200 APPENDICES. 

everything was still, and that there was neither any sound nor motion, 
nor barking of which to be afraid, they crossed the bounds which had 
been set by the Saint, and rushing in among the cattle endeavoured 
to carry them all off. But the Divine power which was present, 
resisted the ungodly, and cast them down, using as an instrument 
against those who as brute beasts cared not for their minds but for 
their bellies, an irrational animal. For the bull of the herd, turning 
as in fury, rushed at them, and attacking the leader of the thieves, 
threw the wretched man down, and gored him in the belly with its 
horns, dashing out his entrails and his life together. Then digging up 
the ground with its hoofs, it struck a marvellous blow with its foot on 
a rock which it had found, and in a wonderful way, in testimony of so 
great a miracle, its foot sank into the stone, as into soft wax, leaving 
its print on the rock, and on account of the footmark giving the place 
its name ; for to this day the place is called in English, Farres Last, 
and in Latin, Tauri Vestigium, or the Footprint of the Bull. Mean- 
while the most blessed father having finished the solemn service of 
prayer, went out, and seeing the man lying dead and disembowelled 
among the feet of the cattle, and the others rushing hither and thither, 
as if possessed by furies, was moved with pity, and turning earnestly 
to God, prayed that He would resuscitate the dead. Nor did he 
cease either from tears or prayers, until that same power by which the 
man had been slain had not only restored him to life, but had also 
made him sound and whole. For verily the power of Christ on 
account of the merit of the Saint smote him and healed him, slew 
him and restored him to life ; led him down to the grave and brought 
him back. Meanwhile the rest of the thieves, who had been running 
about the whole night, and whom a certain madness had shut up 
within the enclosure which the father had formed, when they saw the 
servant of God, cast themselves with fear and trembling at his feet, 
imploring pardon. Gently chiding them and impressing upon them, 
with salutary words, the fear of God and the punishment prepared for 
the rapacious, and having bestowed upon them his benediction, he 
gave them permission to depart. 



LIFE OF NINIAN. 201 

Chapter IX. 

Ailred Complains of the Manners of His Own Age. Niniaris Manner 
of Life. The Miraculous Shower. 

When I consider the devout walk and conversation of this man, I am 
ashamed of our negligence ; I am ashamed of the sloth of this miser- 
able age. Who of us, I ask, even among servants, does not more 
frequently in our mutual intercourse and conversation utter things 
jesting rather than serious, things idle rather than useful, and things 
carnal rather than things spiritual ? Mouths which the Divine grace 
has consecrated for the praise of God and the celebration of the 
sacred mysteries, are day by day polluted with backbitings and 
worldly conversation. Weary of the Psalms and Gospels and Pro- 
phets of God, they busy themselves all the day long with the vain and 
unseemly works of men. How they conduct themselves on a journey ! 
Is not the mind like the body, in motion all day long, and the .tongue 
in idleness ? Gossip and the ways of wicked men are in their mouths, 
religious gravity is dissipated by laughter and idle tales; the affairs 
of kings, the duties of bishops, the ministeries of the clerics, the 
quarrels of princes, and above all the life and ways of all are discussed. 
We judge every thing save our own judgment, and what is more to be 
grieved at, we bite and devour one another that we may be consumed 
one of another. Not so the most blessed Ninian ; no crowd disturbed 
his tranquillity ; no travelling hindered his meditations ; nor did his 
prayers grow lukewarm through fatigue. Whithersoever he went he 
lifted up his soul to celestial things either in meditation or in prayer. 
Whenever he turned aside from his journey and indulged in rest, 
either for himself or the beast he rode, he brought out a book, which 
he carried with him for the purpose, and took pleasure in reading or 
chanting, for he felt as the prophet says : " O how sweet are thy words 
unto my taste, yea sweeter than honey to my mouth." Whence the 
Divine power conferred such grace upon him that even when reclining 
in the open air and reading in the midst of the heaviest showers 
of rain no moisture ever touched the volume on which he was 
intent. But when every place around was wet with the water running 
upon it, he sat alone with his little book beneath the rain, as if pro- 
tected by the roof of a house. And it came to pass that once while 
travelling with one of his brethren, by name Plebia, a man equally 
holy with himself, the most reverent man according to his wont, 

x 



2612. Appendices. 

relieved the tedium of the journey with the Psalms of David, and 
that after a certain portion of the way had been accomplished, they 
turned aside from the public road, in order to rest a little, and their 
Psalters being opened they refreshed their souls by sacred reading. 
Presently the sweet serenity of the sky becoming obscured with black 
clouds, poured down upon the earth beneath the watery showers it 
had conceived by natural exhalation. What more shall I say ? The 
thin air, arching itself like a chamber round the servants of God, 
stood like a wall impenetrable to the falling waters. During the 
singing, however, the most blessed Ninian turned away his eyes from 
the book, being somewhat affected by an unlawful thought, even 
tickled with a certain desire at the suggestion of the devil, when the 
shower bursting upon him and his book immediately proclaimed that 
which was hidden in his heart. Then the brother who was sitting by 
him, understanding what had happened, reminded him with a gentle 
reproof of his order and his age, and showed him how unbecoming 
such things were to such as he. Immediately coming to himself, the 
man of God blushed at having been overtaken by an unprofitable 
thought, and in one and the same moment of time, he both put away 
the thought and caused the rain to cease. 



Chapter X. 

The Miracles of Ninian's Staff on the Sea and on the Land. 

Meanwhile many, both nobles and persons of inferior rank, placed 
their sons with the blessed pontiff to be imbued with sacred learning. 
These he indoctrinated with knowledge and formed in manners; 
curbing with salutary discipline the vices by which their age is wont 
to be entangled, and instilling into their minds the virtues whereby 
they might live godly, righteous, and sober lives. On one occasion 
one of the young men committed a fault which it was impossible to 
hide from the saint of God ; and because it was not right that the 
offender should be allowed to go unpunished, the rods, the severest 
torments of boys, were prepared. The lad fled in terror, and knowing 
the power of the man of God, was careful to carry with him the staff 
on which the Saint was in the habit of leaning, in the belief that he 
had obtained the best comfort for his journey if he did but bear any- 
thing with him which belonged to the Saint. Fleeing therefore from 



LIFE OF NIN I AN. 203 

the face of the man, he sought diligently for a vessel to carry him over 
into Ireland. It is the custom in these regions to make a kind of 
boat by joining wands together in the shape of a cup, and of such a 
size as to be capable of holding three men sitting together. By 
stretching an ox-hide over it, they render it not only buoyant, but also 
impervious to water. Probably in the same way vessels of immense 
size were at that time built. One of these vessels, but without the 
covering of hide, the young man stumbled upon lying at the shore, 
and when he had incautiously entered it, by Divine Providence 
(I know not whether on account of its own lightness, for with a 
slight touch these vessels float far out on the waves), it immediately 
shot out into the sea. As the waters poured in, the miserable sailor 
stood not knowing what to do, whither he should turn, or what it 
was requisite to do. If he abandoned the vessel, his life was in 
peril ; if he remained, there was nothing before him but certain death. 
At last the unhappy youth, repenting of his flight, with pale face saw 
in the waves the avengers of the injury he had done to the father. 
Then coming to himself, and thinking that S. Ninian was present with 
him in his staff, as if at his feet he confessed his fault with tears, 
besought his pardon, entreated that by his most holy merits divine 
help might be vouchsafed to him. Then trusting in the known good- 
ness as well as in the power of the Bishop, he fixed the staff in one of 
the holes, that it might not be hid from posterity what Ninian could 
do even in the sea. At the touch of the staff the element immediately 
trembled, and as if driven back by divine power, did not presume any 
longer to flow in at the open holes. These are Thy works, O Christ ! 
who speaking to Thy disciples, hast endowed them with this promise: 
" He that believeth in me, the works that I do, shall he do also." 
Thou didst imprint Thy sacred footprints on the waves of the deep : 
the power of Ninian did restrain the natural powers of the sea. The 
disciple who was doubting, and therefore in peril among the waves, 
Thy holy hand sustained, lest he should sink : the staff of Ninian pro- 
tected his fugitive disciple from being swallowed up by the waves. 
Thou didst command the wind and the waves that fear might be taken 
away from Thy disciples : the power of Ninian subdued the winds and 
the sea that the youth might be conveyed to the desired shores. 

A wind, rising out of the east, bore the vessel gently along. The 
staff, instead of a sail, caught the wind ; as a helm it directed the 
boat, as an anchor it stayed it. The people stood on the eastern 



204 APPENDICES. 

shore, and seeing the little vessel resting on the waves like a bird, 
neither driven by sail, nor propelled with oar, nor steered with helm, 
awaited its approach, wondering what this miracle might mean. 
Meanwhile the young man landed, and in order that he might make 
the merits of the man of God more widely known, animated by faith, 
he fixed the staff in the shore, beseeching God, that in testimony of 
so great a miracle it might send forth roots, and contrary to its nature, 
receive moisture, and produce branches and leaves, and bring forth 
flowers and fruit. The Divine favour was not wanting to the prayer 
of the suppliant, and immediaiely the dry wood, sending forth roots 
and covering itself with new bark, produced branches and leaves, and 
afterwards growing into a no small tree, makes known even now to all 
who behold it the power of Ninian. Miracle is attributed to miracle. 
At the root of the tree a most limpid fountain springing up, sent forth 
a crystal stream, winding with gentle murmur and lengthened course, 
pleasant to the eye, and sweet to the taste, and on account of the 
merits of the Saint useful, and health-giving to the sick. 



Chapter XI. 

Declamation on the Death of Ninian. His Burial at Whithorn. 

The most blessed Ninian, wondrously shining with such miracles as 
these, and excelling in the highest virtues, reached, after a prosperous 
couse, the day of his summons. That day to the blessed man was a 
day of exultation and joy ; but to the people over whom he ruled a 
day af tribulation and woe. He to whom heaven was opened 
rejoiced ; the people who were bereaved of such a father mourned. 
He for whom an eternal crown was prepared rejoiced ; they whose 
salvation was in danger sorrowed. But sorrow mingled with his joy : 
for to leave them seemed heavy to bear, but to be longer separated 
from Christ was intolerable. But Christ, consoling the soul thus 
hesitating, said : " Arise, hasten, my friend, my dove, and come." 
" Arise, my friend," he said ; " arise, my dove, rise by thought, hasten 
by desire, come by love." Truly, this voice pleased the most blessed 
man, as the friend of the Bridegroom, to whom that Heavenly Bride- 
groom had committed His Bride, revealed his secrets, and opened his 
treasures. Deservedly is that soul called " friend," to whom all was 
love, and nothing fear. " My friend," he says, " my dove." O dove ! 



LIFE OF NINIAN. 205 

dove verily taught to mourn, who, ignorant of the gall of bitterness, 
weeps with them that weep, is weak with them that are weak, and 
burns with them that are offended. Arise, hasten, my friend, my 
dove, and come ; for already the winter is passed, the rain is over and 
gone. Then verily O blessed man ! the winter was passed to thee, 
when thou wast counted worthy to contemplate with joyful eye that 
heavenly country which the Sun of Righteousness illumines with the 
light of His glory, which love enkindles, and a wondrous calm, as of a 
sweet springtime, tempers with an indescribable evenness of seasons. 
Then to thee was passed and gone that wintry inclemency which 
unsettles all these earthly regions, and with the inroads of vice hardens 
the cold hearts of men, in which neither the truth shines fully nor 
charity burns ; and from the showers of temptation and the hail- 
storms of persecutions, that holy soul, perfectly triumphant, escaped 
into the glory of a perpetual spring. "Flowers," he says, "have 
appeared on our earth." Verily, celestial odour from the flowers of 
Paradise was breathed upon thee, O blessed Ninian, when the crowd 
of purple-robed martyrs and and white-robed confessors smiled to thee 
with placid countenance as to their most familiar friend, and wel- 
comed thee whom chastity had made white, and love had made red 
as the rose, to their company. For although opportunity granted not 
the sign of bodily martyrdom here, it denied him not that without 
which martyrdom is nothing, the merit of martyrdom. For how often 
did he throw himself upon the swords of the perverse ! How often 
did he expose himself to the arms of tyrants in the cause of justice ! 
For truth he was ready to lay down his life : and for justice to die. 
Rightly therefore to the flowers of the roses and to the lilies of the 
valley is this empurpled and shining one summoned, ascending from 
Libanus that he may be crowned among the heavenly hosts. For the 
time of ingrafting was come ; for as a ripened cluster he must needs 
now be cut off from the stem of the body or from the vine of the 
Church on earth, to be purified by love and laid up in heavenly 
cellars. 

Wherefore the blessed Ninian, perfect in life and full of years, passed 
happily away from the world, and accompanied by angelic spirits was 
carried into heaven, to receive there an eternal reward. There, asso- 
ciated with the company of the Apostles, joined to the ranks of the 
martyrs, enlisted in the hosts of the holy confessors, adorned also 
with the flowers of the virgins, he fails not to succour those who hope 



206 APPENDICES. 

in him, cry to him, and praise him. He was buried in the church of 
the blessed Martin, which he had himself built from its foundations, 
and was placed in a stone sarcophagus beside the altar, the clergy 
and people being present, sounding forth with their voices celestial 
hymns, with their hearts, sighs and tears. There the power which 
shone in the living Saint, ceases not to manifest itself about the body 
of the departed one, that all the faithful may acknowledge that he who 
is known to work on earth, lives in heaven. For at this most sacred 
tomb the infirm are healed, lepers are cleansed, the wicked are ter- 
rified, and the blind receive their sight ; by all which things the faith 
of the believing is strengthened to the praise and glory of our Lord 
Jesus Christ, who liveth and reigneth with God the Father in the 
Unity of the Holy Spirit, world without end. Amen. 



Chapter XII. 

Miracles of the Relics of Ninian. 

I.-^-On a Deformed Poor Man. — Wherefore, when the most blessed 
Ninian had been translated into heaven, the faithful people, who had 
loved him during his lifetime, frequented with the greatest reverence 
that which seemed to be left to them of him, namely, his most sacred 
relics. The Divine Power approving their reverence and faith, proved 
by many miracles that the Saint whom the common lot had taken 
away from the earth, was still living in the heavens. There was born 
to one of the people by his wife, a miserable son, who was the grief of 
both his parents, a gazing stock to the people, and a horror to those 
who saw him. Nature had formed him contrary to nature, all his 
members being turned the wrong way. The joints of his feet were 
twisted, his heels projected forward ; his back adhered to his face ; 
his breast was near the back of his head ; and his arms being twisted, 
his hands rested on his elbows. What more shall I say ? There lay 
that black figure to whom members had been given without use, life 
without fruit, to whom among the wreck of other members the tongue 
alone remained, that he might bewail his misery and provoke his be- 
holders to sorrow, and his hearers to tears. A continual grief to his 
parents, their sorrow grew daily. At length they thought of the power 
of the most holy Ninian which had so often proved efficacious ; and 
full of faith they caught up that wretched body and coming with it to 



LIFE OF MINI AN. 20; 

the relics of the holy man, they offered the sacrifice of a contrite 
heart with shedding of tears, and continued instant in devout prayers 
until the hour of vespers. Then laying that body before the tomb of 
the Saint, they said : " Receive, O blessed Ninian, that which we offer, 
a gift, hateful indeed, but well fitted to prove thy power. Wearied, 
worn out, oppressed with sadness overcome with loathing, we present 
it to thy compassion. Truly, if it be a gift, favour is due to those who 
offer it ; if a burden, thou, whose power to aid is greater, art in every 
way better able to sustain it. Here, therefore, let him die or live, let 
him be healed or perish." These or similar things they urged with 
tears, and leaving the deformed child before the sacred relics, they 
departed. And behold in the stillness of the midnight the wretched 
child saw approaching him a man shining with celestial light, re- 
splendent in the insignia of a bishop, who, touching him on the head, 
commanded him to rise up whole, and give thanks to God, his Healer. 
And when he was departed, the poor child awaking as from a deep 
sleep, twisted his members one by one by an easy motion into their 
natural position ; and having recovered the use of them all, he 
returned to his parents safe and sound. After this he gave himself 
wholly up to the Church and to ecclesiastical discipline, and after 
being first shorn for Holy Orders, and then ordained a presbyter, he 
ended his life in the service of the father. 

II. — On a Poor Man afflicted with Scabs. — The fame of this miracle 
being noised abroad, many ran together, each laying his own misfor- 
tune before the sacred relics. Among them came a certain simple 
man, poor indeed in fortune, but rich in faith and good will. A 
strange scab had attacked his whole body, and so laid hold upon his 
members that the skin strangely hardening was closing up the courses 
of the veins and everywhere contracting the arteries, and nothing but 
death awaited the sufferer. Accordingly, the unhappy man, drawing 
near to the body of the Saint, offered up the most devout prayers at 
the altar to the Lord of Faith. Tears flow, sighs heave forth, the 
breast is beaten, the very bowels tremble. To such faith and to such 
contrition neither the merit of the Saint was lacking nor the tender- 
ness of Christ, who glorified his Saint and mercifully healed the 
wretched suppliant. Why should I delay longer ? The poor Adel- 
fridus, for that was his name, ceased not from his prayers, and before 
many days were fulfilled he was restored to his former health. 



2o8 APPENDICES. 

III. — On a Blind Girl. — Moreover, at that time there was among 
the people a certain girl, by name Deisuit, who was so afflicted with a 
pain in her eyes, that the violence of the disease deprived her of all 
power of seeing, and the darkness resting upon all things, hid from 
her even the light of the sun. Painful to the sufferer, it was also a 
sorrow to her sympathising relatives. But what could they do ? The 
efforts of the physicians gave place to despair, and Ninian, the only 
hope that remained, is sought. Led by the hand to that most sacred 
spot, she is left there weeping and wailing. She asks earnestly, seeks 
anxiously, knocks importunately, and the compassionate Jesus fails 
not of what he promised in his Gospel : "Ask, and ye shall receive ; 
seek, and ye shall find ; knock, and it shall be opened unto you." 
Therefore to the girl appeared the grace she sought. The door of 
pity at which she knocked was opened. The health she sought was 
given ; for the darkness being taken away, the lost light was restored. 
All pain departed, and she who had come to the sacred tomb led by 
another, returned home by the guidance of her own sight amid the 
great joy of her parents. 

IV. — On Two Lepers. — Further, there were seen to come into the 
city two lepers, who, deeming it presumptuous to touch holy things 
with the contagion of leprosy, implored, as it were, afar off the help of 
the Father. But coming to the fountain, and believing that whatever 
holy Ninian had touched was holy, they thought to wash themselves 
in that laver. O fresh miracle of Eliseus the prophet ! O new cleans- 
ing, not of one but of two Naamans ! Naaman came in the spirit of 
presumption ; these in the spirit of lowliness ; he came in doubt, 
these in faith. The King of Syria doubted ; the King of Israel 
doubted ; Naaman doubted. Doubted the King of Syria ; he doubted 
and was proud, who imagined that his leper must be sent not to the 
prophet but to the King. Doubted also the King of Israel, who, hav- 
ing heard the letter of the King of Syria, rent his garments and said : 
" Am I God, that I am able to make alive and to kill ? " Doubted 
Naaman, who, having heard the counsel of the prophet, went away 
angry. Naaman therefore stood in his chariot of pride at the gate of 
Eliseus. These in faith and lowliness of heart cried aloud to the 
mercy of Ninian. Rightly then is his fountain turned into a Jordan, 
and Ninian become a prophet. The lepers are cleansed at the touch 
of the laver, but by the merits of Ninian ; and their flesh is restored 



LIFE OF N INI AN. 209 

as the flesh of a little child. They return to their friends healed, to 
the glory of Ninian, in praise of God, who worketh marvellously in 
His Saints. 

But let this be the end of this book, though not the end of the 
miracles of S. Ninian. These do not cease to shine forth even now, 
to the praise and glory of our Lord Jesus Christ, who, with the 
Father and the Holy Spirit, liveth and reigneth for ever and ever. 
Amen. 



2io APPENDICES. 



II. 

THE LIFE OF S. MACHOR.* 

We cannot here omit to notice how the famous youth Mochonna 
(who, as we read, was also called Macharius and Mauritius) advanced 
in virtue and Christian perfection under the teaching of the most 
blessed Father Columba, to whom he had joined himself from his 
boyhood, nor yet with what glory he finished the course of his life, 
begun with the utmost sanctity. Before he was born, S. Eugenius, 
bishop of Ardstrath, a man of remarkable holiness, foresaw and fore- 
told what and how great he would be. His father was King Fiachna ; 
his mother Finchcemia. His foster-father was a certain prince of 
Connaught, with whom he was brought up until he had passed the 
years of boyhood, and seemed too mature for the mere rudiments of 
letters. Afterwards he devoted himself to the study of letters, and 
when he heard the great and constantly increasing reputation which 
our master S. Columba, who was then staying in Ireland, had for 
learning and sanctity, moved by a divine instinct, he hastened to him 
and submitted himself to him to be instructed and formed according 
to the whole rule of evangelical perfection. The Holy Father, seeing 
an excellent disposition, staid manners, and an ardent zeal for piety 
conspicuous in the royal youth, his kinsman, admitted him gladly, 
and in the space of three months thoroughly instructed him in those 
things which another, even of maturer years, could not learn in a 
longer space of time. Such was the grace of the master, and such the 
capacity and diligence of the divinely enlightened youth, who, running 
in the paths of the rest of the virtues with equal felicity, zealously 
endeavoured to imitate the Holy Father in every thing becoming his 
age or position. 

Thereafter, when S. Columba prepared to set out for Albion 
(Albionem), where thenceforth he was to be exiled for Christ, 
S. Mochonna rather forced than offered himself as a companion of 
his pilgrimage. For when the Holy Father advised him not to 
forsake his parents or the land of his birth, he uttered a saying 
well worthy a monk — "Thou," he said, " art my father, the Church 

* Colgan, Trias Thaumaturgai, Vita Scti. Columbae, Vta, cap. xxiii.-xxx., p. 435. 



LIFE OF S. MACHOR. 211 

is my mother, and my country is where I can find a richer harvest of 
meritorious deeds, and greater opportunity of serving Christ. Hence- 
forth I will follow thee wheresoever thou goest, till thou leadest to 
Christ, to whom thou hast already consecrated me." Shortly after 
he had spoken these words, in order that he might the more readily 
break down every barrier, he uttered a vow to forsake his native 
land. Wherefore, the Holy Father at length consenting, he passed 
with him into Albania (Albanian)), where he gave yet more abundant 
indications of piety and learning, whether spending his leisure in 
monastic quiet or strenuously co-operating in the work of spreading 
the Gospel, being adorned in either case by God with signs and 
miracles, through his own merits or through those of his master. 

For once when they were staying in the monastery of Iona, he 
was ordered by the venerable father to write something, and at 
once set his hand to the task. What he could not finish by day he 
carried on at night with some divine radiance serving the turn of 
physical light. It illumined his cell in the night watches, and 
struck the eyes of some of the brethren, but to no good, inasmuch as 
it provoked them to such blackness of envy, that they sacrilegiously 
plotted the death of the holy youth. In their most wicked endeavour 
to accomplish this, they gave him poison to drink at the time of 
refection, as he reclined at table, but in vain. For the most blessed 
father Columba, who was then engaged in a more saintly fashion in 
his penetential closet, divined with his enlightened mind both their 
machinations and Mochonna's peril ; and thereupon raised his hand 
and blessed from afar the cup mixed with poison, and immediately the 
poison was spilt, and so it came to pass that S. Machor drank the 
liquor which remained, and escaped the danger. 

But when the blessed Father saw that the monks' envy and 
hatred towards S. Mochonna had grown to such a pitch, he deter- 
mined to send him, if only for a time, to some other place where 
he might dwell more securely and fruitfully. To this end he summoned 
him, and caused him to be consecrated Bishop. Then having pre- 
sented him with the ring and staff and other insignia of the pontifical 
dignity, he sent him into the province of the Picts along with twelve 
companions who were diligent and experienced in the ministry of the 
Church. He told him that when he arrived at the margin of a certain 
stream in that province, which presented the form of a pastoral staff, 
he was to abide there, The most obedient Mochonna set out with his 



212 APPENDICES. 

companions, and when he arrived at the appointed stream, he built a 
church on its bank, and by the efficacy of his prayer, turned into 
stone a savage monster which was wont to devastate that region, and 
slay all it met with its poisonous breath and belching. He showed 
forth many other miracles in that province, not without great fruit ; 
for at length he drew very many to the truth of the faith, built many 
churches, suppressed the worship of false gods, and overthrew idols. 

After this, when he wished to go to Rome, the blessed Columba 
summoned Mochonna and chose him out of all the rest as the 
companion of the journey which he purposed, for in him he knew 
he would find all the talents of a faithful companion. There- 
fore they began the journey together, and arrived together in. Rome, 
where they were most courteously received by Pope Gregory. After 
he had learned the names (for by that time he had two), rank and 
sanctity of Mochonna from our master Columba, whether disliking 
the foreign words or preferring the Latin, or by reason of some hidden 
mystery, he was pleased to call him Mauritius, and in recognition of 
his rank and virtues, appointed him to the administration of the See 
of Tours, which at that time was vacant. 

Having accomplished their pilgrimage to Rome, and having been 
endowed with the pontifical benediction, as they retraced their way 
home, they turned aside to Tours. This city was celebrated as the 
dwelling-place of the great Martin, famous as his See, and glorious 
in his relics, although there was this yet lacking to its felicity, that 
while sure of the possession of so great a treasure — the body, I mean, 
of the most blessed Martin — the city was yet ignorant of the sepulchre 
wherein it was laid. This matter was then under discussion, and as 
soon as the fame of the arrival and sanctity of the blessed Columba 
spread through the city, and when they heard of the grace of prophecy 
in which he prevailed, the chief men of Tours came to him beseeching 
him with many prayers, and the offer of many gifts of gold and silver 
and other precious things, to discover the sepulchre of S. Martin, and to 
distinguish his sacred relics from the rest. But S. Columba, at once, 
despising silver and gold and zealous for the honour of Martin, while 
rejecting the gifts of the suppliants, gave heed to their prayers, but 
on this condition — that they should yield him whatever relics other 
than the body of S. Martin he might find in his sepulchre. The con- 
dition was readily agreed to. The holy man pointed with his finger to 
the place where the sacred body was lying ; it was soon dug up, and 



LIFE OF S. MACHOR. 213 

along with the desired relics a mass-book was found. The people of 
Tours well-nigh repented of their promise, and murmured against 
giving the book to Columba when he demanded it, unless he first 
added another favour to his former benefit, and left some one of his 
companions, a man holy and fit to command, to administer the 
church of Tours. After the Saint had agreed to this, and pre- 
sented S. Mochonna to them as already designated by the Supreme 
Pontiff to the See of Tours, he obtained the desired book of S. Martin, 
which both the life of Bishop S. Eugenius, and the legend of 
Mochonna himself, relate to have been found by S. Columba on this 
wise and on this occasion. 

During the night of the first day on which S. Machor sat at 
Tours, S. Martin appeared to divers persons, clerics and citizens, in 
dreams, and warned each of them to pay as much reverence to 
Machor, his most worthy successor, as they would pay to himself if he 
were still surviving. Having been given the infula* of Tours at 
the demand of the people, with the consent of his master, with the 
authority of the supreme pontiff, Gregory the Great, and finally with 
the approval of the most blessed Martin, who rules among the denizens 
of Heaven, S. Machor governed the see committed to him in the 
most saintly manner for three years and a half. When that time was 
run, he felt that the hour of his dissolution was at hand, and calling 
the brethren together, said to them : " The hour is near for which 
alone I have waited with strong desire from my youth till now — the 
hour, I mean, of my departure to Christ — to which I shall come when 
the three days have sped which alone remain." Truly this was tidings 
evil for the brethren and evil for the citizens. The blessed. man 
exhorted them to lay aside all grief for his death, as they well knew 
that none had ever lived except under the law that he at length die, 
and that no one should struggle against the Divine will, which had 
been pleased to put a speedy end to his exile. 



* The infula was, in classical times, the band or fillet with which the brow of the 
sacrificing priest and the head of the victim were bound. In early Christian times 
the term appears to have been transferred to the head-covering of Christian priests, 
and may have had some connection with the mitre which came to be recognised as 
the official head-dress of a bishop. The word, however, was sometimes used to 
denote a ministerial vestment. — See Ducange, also Smith, Diet, of Chris. Antiqq., 
sub infula. 



214 APPENDICES. 

Therefore, after having dismissed the rest of the crowd which 
had assembled, and as he awaits the approaching hour of his 
death, with the clergy and monks sitting beside him and with a joyful 
countenance and a mind directed to eternal things, behold S. Martin 
visits him from Heaven, the most blessed Columba, borne by divine 
power, from the island of Iona, and, what is chief, the most gracious 
Saviour of the world, Jesus Christ, from the bosom of the Father, 
surrounded by a numerous host of celestial spirits, apostles, and other 
saints. At their glorious appearing he was wonderfully refreshed, 
and it was granted him to have the monks and clergy who stood by 
as partakers of his joy, and spectators and witnesses of his felicity, 
which was now begun. They not only saw with their eyes the blessed 
man bathed in a glow of celestial radiance, but also heard the sweet 
sounding harmony and most pleasant melody of the celestial choirs, and 
soon heard the words of the heavenly beings who stood by, whose 
one voice, as they invited the soul of the most blessed champion to 
glory, was this : " Come with us, Machor, come with us ; thou who 
art to abide with us in the kingdom of thy Father." So at length 
the blessed Machor, invited by angels and visited by Christ, passed 
to the joys of heaven, and Columba, on that assembly of heavenly 
beings being dissolved, was borne back to his own monastery by 
divine power. 



GLOSSARY. 



GLOSSARY. 



JVote.—l, 79=Legend I, line 79 ; 2, 62, 287=Legend 2, lines 62 and 287. 



A, adj., 1, 79; 2, 62, 287 

Abad, j., delay, 1, 66, 264 

Abidis, /r«. /., awaits, 2, 837 

Abot, j., abbot, 2, 538 

A dele, in the least, 2, 402 

Abade, j., delay, I, 122 

Abaisit, /./., abased, 2, 1334 

Abandonit, /./., abandoned, i. 58 

Abbay, s., abbey, 1, 711 

Abaysit, adj., abashed, alarmed, 2, 183 

Abeowe, prep. , above, 2, 755 

Accept,/./., accepted, 2, 18 

Accordit, p.p., agreed, 1, 836 

Acht, p.t., owned, 1, 518 

Acht, pres. t., it behoves, 2, 1190 

Affray, s., terror, 1, 1295 

Affere, v. , to belong, pertain to, 1, 169 

Again, prep., against, contrary to, 1, 487 

Agane, prep., against, I, 55, 234 

Aganis, prep., against, 1, 866 

Agaste, adj., terrified, 1, 917 

Alane, adv., alone, 1, 1066 ; 2, 171 

Aid, adj., old, I, 414 ; 2, 902 ; aide, 

1, 504 
Aleyne, adj., alone, 2, 1366 
Al hy, all haste, 2, 122 
Al hyre alane, by herself, 2, 171 
Alkine, all kinds of, 2, 85 
Al, adj., all, I, 14, 32, 38 
Al-lestand, adj., everlasting, I, 1271 
Almon ded, alms deed, 2, 102 
Almus, s., alms, I, 243 
Alquhare, adj., everywhere, 2, 673 
Als, conj., also, 1, 87, 478, 651, 1043 
Alsa, conj., also, 2, 689 
Also, conj., also, I, 790 
Alsone, adv., all soon, 1, 318 
Alswith, adv., quickly, 2, 494, 747 
Altere, s., altar, I, 1412 
Ame, i.s. pres. t., am, 1, 1323 
Amend, v., to make amends, I, 1350 
Amonesting, s., admonishing, 2, 975 
And, conj., if, 2, 624 
Ane, adj., one, I, 168, 485, 504, 635 
Anerly, adv., only, 1, 1305 ; 2, 133 



Angelsang, s. , angelsong, 2, 76 
Ansuere, s., answer, I, 122 
Ansuert, p.t., answered, 1, 351 
Aparel, v., to equip, 2, 477 
Apere, v., to appear, 1, 1419 ; 2, 378 ; 

p.t., apperit, 1, 692 
Apertly, adv., openly, I, 1007 
Apone, prep., upon, 2, 1282 
Approwand, pres. p., approving, 1, 125 
Aquynt, adj., acquainted, I, 178 
At, pres. t. plu., are, r, 784, 802 
Arayt, p.t., arranged, I, 695 
Are, s., heir, 2, 1346 
Are, adj., early, 1, 26 
Are, adv., before, I, 1021, 1032 ; 2, 

394, 960 
Argw, v., to argue, 2, 1301 
Armis, s.plu., arms, I, 655 
Arywyt, p.t., arrived, 2, 742 
As, adv., as if, I, 302 
As, adv., when, I, 97, 263, 335, 444 ; 

2, 545, 553, 697 
Askine, s., asking, questions, I, 121 ; 

request, 2, 1027 
Askit, p.t., asked, I, 190 
Askynge, s., asking, prayer, 1, 1387 
Assay, s., trials, proofs, 3, 401 
Assay, v., to try, I, 313 ; 2, 126 
Assith, s., recompense, 1, 1130 
Assouerand, pres. p., trusting, 2, 984 
Asyse, s., jury, 1, 971 
Asyth, j., excuse, 2, 639 
At, pron., that, 1, 572, 865 ,« 2, 21, 

547, 674, 796, 825, 989, 1003 
At, prep., at, I, 109, 401, 799 
At, prep., of, from, I, igo 
At, prep., with, 2, 82 
At, conj., that, 2, 16 
Athens, adj., either, both, 2, 844 
Athir, pron., either, I, 567 
Athyre, adj., either, the one, 2, 512 
Auld, s., old man, 2, 1389 
Aucht, p.t., owned, 2, 65 
Awaris, s., avarice, 2, 1047 
Awaile, s., avail, use, profit, 1, 922 



218 



GLOSSARY. 



Awale, v., to avail, I, 140, 153 

Awisment, s., advice, 2, 1108 

A.wne,pren., own, 1, 378,864; 2, 1123 

Awou, s., vow, 1, 1000 

Awouyt, p.t., vowed, I, 1389 

Aye, adv. , always, ever, I, 2, 8, 1061 ; 

2.83S 
Ayre, s., heir, 2, 138 
Ayre, s., air, I, 571 

Bad, p.t., commanded, 1, 441, 698 ; 

2, 127 
Bad, p.t., remained, 1, 462, 1017 
Bade, s., delay, 1, 392 
Bak, s., back, I, 1013 
Bake, s., back, I, 651 
Bakwart, adv., backward, I, 650 
Bale, adj., sore, diseased, I, 1328 
Ban, v., to curse, 1, 1239 
Band,/./., bound, 1, 1012 
Bane, s., bone, I, 804 ; 2, 1033 
Baptyme, s., baptism, 2, no 
Baptysme, s.. baptism, 2, 656 
Bar, s., bear, 2, 863 
Bar, bare, p.t., bore, I, 1280, 1536 ; 2, 

1565 
Bargane, s., bargain, 1, 1280 
Barne, s., child, 1, 333; 2, 122, 585; 

plu., barnis, I. 482. 
Bat, s., boat, 2, 478 
Bath, adj., both, I, 663, 1035 
Be, v., to be, I, 96 ; s. imper., be, I, 

1001 ; plu. imper., beis, 2, 1521 ; 

p.p. ben, 1, 574, 738; bene, 1, 278, 

1008 
Be, prep., by, I, 81, 114, 222 ; 2, 131 
Bede, s., bed, 1, 660 
Bedene, adv., quickly, 1, 360, 900 
Befal, v., to befall, happen, 1, 383; 

p.t., befel, 1, 690 
Beft, p. t. , beat, smote, 2, 190 
Befte, p.p., beaten, 1, 491, 500 
Beforne, adv., before, I, 4, 1362 ; 2, 

907 
Befortyme, adv., before, 1, 278 
Begane, p.t., began, 1, 202 
Beguth,/.r., began, 1, 27, 51 I. 962 
Begynnand, pres. p. , beginning, 2, 32 
Begyt, p.p., builded, 1, 208 
Behald, v., to behold, I, 445 
Behowit, p.p., behoved, 2, 630 
Behynd, /re/., behind, I, 1013 
Bellis, s. plu., bells, 1. 714 
Belyf, adv., quickly, 1, 884 
Bene, adj., sound, in good condition, 1, 

523 
Bensone, *., blessing, I, 124 
Benysone, s., blessing, 1, 106, 172, 437 
Beowte, />-<;/., without, outside, 1, 736 



Bere, j., bear, 2, 988 

Bere, s., bier, 2, 1 168 

Bere, s., noise, uproar, 2, 260 

Bere, v., to bear, carry, 1, 533 ; 2, 

1 158 ; pres. t'.s., bere, I, 738 ; plu. 

beris, 1, 733 
Beste, s., beast, 2, 1485 
Beste, adj., super I. best, 1, 82, 429 
Bestiale, s., flesh, meat, 1, 427 
Besy, adj., busy, eager, anxious, I, 727, 

838 ; 2, 558 
Besyd, adv., beside, 2, 53 
Besyli, adv., busily, 1, 129 
Besyly, adv., earnestly, I, 207 
Besynes, s., trouble, I, 76 
Betacht, p.t., delivered, 1, 126 ; be- 

taucht, 2, 146 
Betaknyng, s., betokening, I, 1269 
Betraisit, p.p. betrayed, 1, 905 
Bettir, adv., comp., better, more loudly, 

1. 903 
Betuk, p.t., conveyed, 2, 44 
Betyd, p.t., chanced, I, 1266 
Bewanye, s., profit, I, 754, 1279 
Be were=bewere, v., to beware, 1, 1343 
Bewiste, s., dwelling, 2, 834 
Bewte, s., beauty, 1, 307 
Bischope, s., bishop, 1, 158 
Blad, s., blade, I, 1139 
Blak, adj., black, 1, 570 
Blam, s., blame, 2, 326 
Blaste, s., blast, 1, 904 
Bles, v., to bless, 1, 476 ; blyse, 2, 517 ; 
p.t., blissit, I, 199;/./., blissit, 2, 

SIS 
Blew, p.t., blew, I, 903 
Blise, s., bliss, 1, 365 
Blissinge, s., blessing, 1, 435 
Blynd, adj., blind, 1, 790, 1276 
Blyse, s., biiss, 2, 67 
Blyse, v., to bless, 2, 517 
Blyth, adj., blith, 2, 493 j blythe, I, 

249 ; 2, 95 
Blythnes, s., gladness, 1, 250 
Blyne, v., to cease, I, 367 
Bollyne, p.p., swoln, 1, 1374 
Bone, adj., ready, I, 885 
Borne, p.p., born, I, 3 
Bot, adv., only, I, 79, 640 
Bot, prep., save, except, 1, 1080 ; 2, 79 
Bot, conj., but, 1, 449 ; 2, SS 
Bot, conj., unless, 1, 285 
Bowne, adj., ready, 2, 711 
Bra, s., brim, 2, 229 
Brad, adj., broad, 2, 220, 1037 
Brane-woud, adj., mad, 1. 452 
Brath, adj., fierce, 2, 201 
Brawne-woude, adj., mad, 1, 466 
Breke, s., breeches, 1, 1080 



GLOSSARY. 



219 



Brest, s., breast, 2, 251 ; breste, 1, 654 
Brethir, s, pit*., brethren, 2, 1185 ; see 

bruther 
Brocht,/./., brought, I, 412, 662 
Bruk, v., to enjoy, 1, 365 ; 2, 768 
Bruther, s., brother, 1, 555 j bruthyre, 
2, 649; plu., brethir, 2, 1185; 
brethere, I, 384 ; brethyre, 2, 591, 
649, 726 
Brycht, adj., bright, I, 912 ; 2, 59 
Bryng, v., to bring, I, 400, 676 
Bryngand, pres. p., bringing, 2, 423 
Brynnand, pres. p., burning, 2, 567 
Buk, j., book, 1, 584; buke, I, 567 
Bule, s., bull, 1, 449 
Bundine, p.p. , bound, I, 1035 ; 2, 1294 
Burdis, s. plu., boards, tables, I, 389 
Burdoure, 1., jester, 1, 890 
Buskit, p.t., prepared, 2, 1360 
But, prep., without, 1, 14 ; except, I, 

921 
But abad, without delay, 1, 264. But 
abade, without delay, I, 122. But 
areste, without delay, 1, 913. But 
bad, without delay, 1, 506 ; 2, 162. 
But bade, without delay, I, 392. 
But besynes, without trouble, 1, 76 ; 
2, 366. But delay, without delay, 1, 
300 ; 2, 552. But difficulte, without 
difficulty, 1, 74. But dout, with- 
out fear, 1, 447. But dred, with- 
out fear, doubt, I, 78. But drede, 
without fear, 1, 219. But dyfry- 
culte, without difficulty, 2, 364. 
But felyng, without feeling, 2, 606. 
But hone, without delay, 2, 1558. 
But lessinge, without falsehood, I, 
941. But letting, without hind- 
rance, 1, 112. But let, without 
hindrance, I, 1015. But mare, 
without more ado, 1, 711. But 
mare delay, without more delay, 1, 
1006. But mare fryst, without 
more delay, 2, 262. But offens, 
without offence, 2, 344. But ony 
friste, without any delay, I, 398. 
But ony haw, without any delay, 1, 
910. But ony were, without any 
doubt, 2, 132. But parel, without 
danger, 2, 224. But schame, with- 
out shame, I, 634. But skath, 
without hurt, 1, 834, But smyt, 
without spot, 1, 138. But thrift, 
without value, 1, 676. But were, 
without doubt, I, 395, 497. 
Bute, s., healing, I, 791 ; 2, 1589 
By, adv. and prep., near, 1, 987 ; 2, 64, 

550 
Byd, v., to abide, stay, 1, 187, 907 



Byd, v., to bid, command, 1, 345 

Bydding, j., command, 1, 487 

Byddng, s., bidding, command, I, 401 

Bydyng, s., bidding, 2, 666 

Byg, »., to build, 1, 216 

Bygyn, bygyne, s., building, 2, 781, 784 

Byrd, p.t., it behoved, 2, 1479; bryde, 

2, 1458 
Byrth, s., birth, 2, 33 
Bysnyne, s., monster, 1, 701 
Bysnyng, .>., monster, 1, 646 
Bysnyne, adj., monstrous, misshapen, 

1, 686 
Byschopis, s. poss., bishop's, 2, 775 
Bysyly, adv., busily, eagerly, 2, 675 



Cal, v., to call, 1, 142, 424; p.t., callit, 
I. H7. 392 5 P-P; callit, 1, 10 ; 2, 
44 

Cald, adj., cold, 2, 140 

Caile, cale, s., kail, 1, 390, 394, 404 

Can, cane, p.t., did, 1, 118, 159, 294 

Candil, s., candle, 2, 567 

Capytane, s., captain, I, 858 

Care, s., grief, trouble, I, 320 ; 2, 148, 

190. !95. 45" 
Carle, s., man, 2, 497 
Carpying, s., conversation, 2, 395 
Caste, v., to cast, I, 218, 510 
Catel, catele, s., cattle, I, 432, 443, 

446, 448 
Catife, adj., catife, 1, 294, 1006 
Causit, p.t., caused, 1, 128 
Cele, s. zeal, 2, 310 
Cesis, pres. t., ceases, I, 618 
Chalansing, s., accusation, 1, 968 
Chasit, p.t., chased, 1, 918 ; 2, 1050 
Chasty, s., chastity, 2, 1300 
Chepal, s., chapel, 1, 736 
Chere, s., cheer, I, 117, 1124 
Cheryte, s., charity, 2, 316, 716 
Ches, v., to choose, I, 602 ; 2, 625 
Chesone, s., occasion, cause, 1, 1 156 
Cheuire, v., to shiver, 2, 1500 
Chid,/./., chid, I, 1302 
Child, s., child, 1, 7 ; plu., childere, 2, 

1 1 14 
Chosit, p.t., chose, 1, 256 
Chosine, p.p., chosen, 2, 1291 
Chyd, p.p., chidden, 1, 1277 
Chyld, s., child, 2, 161 ; 2, 607 
Clafe, p.t., clave, 2, 604 
Claith, 1., cloth, clothes, I, 584 
Clathis, s. plu., clothes, bed clothes, 2, 

"5 
Clene, adj., clean, 1, 356 
Clenge, v., to. cleanse, I, 214;/./., 

clengit, 1, 1260 



220 



GLOSSARY. 



Cler, clere, adj. , clear, I, 541, 693 
Clergy, s., ecclesiastical science, I, 1 30 
Clergy, s., office of a priest, 2, 1394 
Clerkis, s. plu., clerks, clergymen, 2, 

1072 
Clerly, adv., clearly, I, 167 
Clething, s., clothing, 1, 237 ; 2, 424 
Clewit, p.t., clave, stuck, 2, 1006 
Clommyne, p.p., climbed, I, 279 
Coble, s., cobble, a small kind of boat, 

1, 504 
Com, v., to come, 2, 61 ; p.t., com, I, 

193. Sz6. 99 1 ; 2 , io 4 5 come, I, 

in, 119, 335; 2, 97, 224. See 

cum 
Come, s., coming, 1, 195 
Command, s., promise, agreement 1, 842 
Comma wnd, prcs, t., command, 2, 866 
Common, j. , people, 2, 572 
Commonis, s., common people, I, 427 
Compacience, s., compassion, sympathy, 

1, 247 

Condempnyt, p.p., condemned, I, 1050 
Condyt, s., safe conduct, 1, 1195 
Confermyt, p.t., confirmed, 1,221, 377 
Confessoure, •>., Confessor, I, 721 
Confluence, s., concourse, gathering, I, 

197 5 2. 155 
Confund, v. , to confound, 2, 1 352 
Consall, consele, s., counsel, 2, 679, 822 
Consawe, v., to conceive, 1, 75 ; 2, 

335 ; p.t., consauit, 1,39 
Consel, s., counsel, 1, 139, 1073 
Consele, v., to conceal, 1, 319, 1173 
Cont, pres. t., count, I, 1155 
Contrare, adj., opposed, 1, 275 
Contre, v., to oppose, I, 878 
Consyderit, p.t., considered, 2, 362 
Conway, v., to convey, I, 979 
Conuerse v., to converse, 1, 61 
Cop, *-., cup, 2, 598, 601, 604 ; cope, 

2, 603 

Corce, s., cross, 2, 914 

Corne, s., corn, I, 94 

Cors, s., body, corpse, 2, 928, 11 80 

Cors, s., cross, 2, 1546 

Costlyk, adj., costly, 1, 617 ; 2, 786, 

1570 
Crabitnes, s., anger, I, 1285 
Craftly, adj., skilful, 2, 786 
Credil, *., cradle, 2, 72 
Criand, pres. p. , crying, 2, 193 
Cristel, s., crystal, 1,541 
Cristnit, p.p., christened, baptised, 2, 

852 
Croice, s., cross, 1, 299 
Cry, v., to cry, shout, 2, 185 
Cud-clath, i., christening cloth, 1, 10; 

see note 



Culpable, adj., guilty, I, 975 

Cum, come, v., to come, I, 128, 176; 
2 , 74, 5 01 , pres. t., cume, 1, 
H94;//w., cumis, 1, 752; pres. p., 
cumand, I, 876 ; p.p., cumyn, 1, 
691 ; cumyne, I, 608 ; cummyne, 
I, 406. See come 

Cumly, adj., comely, 2, 1039 

Cun, v., to learn, 2, 1065 

Cunctre, s., country, 1, 99 

Cunning, s., skill, 2, 8 

Cure, s., care, I, 213, 386 

Curt, s., court, 1, 968, 970 

Curting, s., curtain, 1, 1329 

Curss, s., course, 2, 1355 

Cath for cane, v.p.t., did, 1, 142 

Cuth, v.p.t., could, knew, 1, 67, 87 ; 2, 
295, 308 

Dais, s., days, 1, 185 
Dais, s. poss., day's, I, 1009 
Dampnynge, s., damnation, 1, 1270. 
Dante, daynte', s., esteem, honour, I, 

626 ; 2, 1406 
Dar, v., to dare, 2, 1585 
Dat, s. date, I, 610 
De, v., to die, 1, 948 ; 2, 1007 
Debonar, adj., debonair, 1, 238 
Ded, s., death, 2, 119 
Ded, j., deed, conduct, 2, 313 
Ded, dede, adj., dead, 1, 2, 625 ; 2, 

122, 839 
Dede,/./., did, 1, 944 
Dede, p.p., killed, 1, 458; 682 
Dedis, s. plu., deeds, I, 64 
Dedly, adj., deadly, mortal, 1, 14, 182, 

634 
Dedstra, s., death bed, 2, 1153 
Def, adj., deaf, I, 789 
Defendit, p.p. , protected, 2, 273 
Defould, v., to defile, 2, 864 
Degre, s., degree, way, estate, 1, 32, 

43, 640. In al degre, in every way, 

',32 
Deide, s., deed, 1, 220 
Deile, s., bit, part, 1, 590 
Deit, s., debt, 1, 268 ; 2, 1510 
Deit, p.t., died, I, 347, 590; 2, 109 
Delt, p.t., dealt, 1, 1029 
Delyt, s., delight, pleasure, 1, 57 ; 2, 

298, 562 
Delytable, adj., suitable, 2, 1621 
Demawnd, s., request, 2, 11 16 
Demyt, p.p., doomed, sentenced, 1, 

976 
Demyt,/./., deemed, 1, 1214 
Departing, s., separating, 2, 1 147. 
Departynge, s., separating, 2, 1420 
Departyt, /./., divided, I, 1099 



GLOSSARY. 



221 



Depe, adj., deep, 2, 220 

Der, dere, adj., dear, 1, 147 ; 2, 439, 

443 
Dere, v., to harm, injure, 1, 583 
Determyt, p.t., determined, 2, 431 
Deuocione, s., devotion,, 1, 105 ; 2, 470 
Deuod, u., to clear, 2, 1539 
Deuote, adj., devout, 1, 239 
Devore, s., devoir, duty, 1, 590 
Dew, p.t., dawned, 1. 1417 
Dewotly, adv., devoutly, 2, 599 
Dewylis, s. poss., devil's, 2, 620 
Dide, p.t., did, I, 173 
Difficulte, s., difficulty, 1, 74 
Dingne, adj., worthy, 2, 381 
Discipil, s., disciple, I, 848 ; pin., 2, 

1 184 
Discret, adj., discreet, 1, 141 
Disese, s., discomfort, 1, 1407 
Disparit, p.t., despaired, 1, 290 
Dispituisly, adv., relentlessly, 2, 1049 
Dissawe, v., to deceive, 1, 1032 
Dissawis, pres. t., deceives, 2, 620 
Dissese, s., discomfort, 1, 964 
Dissessit, p.p. , distressed, 2, 1530 
Dissolat, adv., desolate, 2, 1532 
Dislresse, s., distress, 1, 549 
Distrowbylance, s., trouble, 2, 740 
Distrowre, s., destroyer, 1, 296 
Distroyt, p.t-, destroyed, 2, 857 
Dochty, adj., doughty, 1, 883 
Doctrine, s., teaching, 1, 486 ; 2, 1302 
Dois, pres. t., does, 1, 694 
T>oa,p.p., done, 1, 713 ; 2, 127 
Don, done, adv., down, 1, 218, 369, 

565, 99 1 > 2 > 262, 601 
Donne, adv., down, 2, 1141 
Doul, s., sorrow, 2, 118 
Doumsysday, s., doom's day, the day of 

Judgment, 1, 382 
Dout, s., doubt, fear, danger, 1, 954, 

957, 1 166. 
Doutyt, p.t., feared, 2., 347 
Dowis, pres. t., does, 2, 618 
Dowmej s., judgment, thought, 2, 1240, 

1465 
Downe, p.p., done, 2, 1466, 1549 
Dowyng, s., giving, 1, 243 
Drawine, p.p., drawn, 1, 656, 1330 
Dred, drede, s., fear, 1, 54, 291, 491 ; 

2, 35° 
Dred, v., to fear, 1, 30 
Dress, v., address, 2, 665 
Dressit, p.t., prepared, 1, 101 ; dressit 

hyme, prepared himself 
Drynk, s., drink, 1, 23 ; 2, 589, 792 
Duel, v., to dwell, I, 256 ; p.t., 1. 185, 

309 ; pres. p., duellande, 1, 144, 

306 ; dwelland, 2, 55, 740 



Dule, j., sorrow, 2, m 

Dume, adj., dumb, I, 793 ; 2, 1591 

Durst, p.t. , dared, I, 907 

Duschit, p.t., dashed, 1, 452 

Dycht, v. to prepare, 1, 868 ; p.t, 

dycht, 1, 884; 2, 1422; p.p., 

dycht, 1, 588 
T>y&,p.t., did, 2, SSI 
Dyffyculte, s., difficulty, 2, 364 
Dynt, s., stroke, 2, 119 
Dyscypil, 1., disciple, 2, 543. 
Dyseypline, s., discipline, 2, 808 
Dyspysare, s., despiser, 1, 723 
Dyspyt, s. despite, 2, 389 
Dvielaxid, pres. p., dwelling, 2, 55, 740 



Eilde, s., age, 2, 1052 

Effray, s., harm, I, 993 

Eft, adv., often, 2, 834 

Eftir, eftire, eftyre, adv., after, 1, 209, 

375. 929 
Eggit,/.*., urged, 1, 1311 
Ek, adv., again, I, 1022 
Eke, adv., also, 1, 247, 1106 
Eke, v., to increase, 1, 102, 105 ; p.t., 

ekyt, 2, 101 
Eld, elde, s., age, I, 19, 28, 610, 662 ; 

2, 301 
Eldiris, s., forefathers, I, 4 
Ellis, adv., else, I, 1257 
Elyk, adv., alike, 2, 200 
Elyment, s., element, 2, 209 
Emples, v., to please, 1, 604 
Encrely, adv., earnestly, 2, 1107 
Enbawmy t, p.p. , embalmed, 2, 1572 
Ending, s., end, 2, 1496 
Ene, s.plu., eyes, 1, 298, 301 
Enforme, v., to instruct, 2, 331 
Enhournyt, adj., adorned, 2, 527 
Enples, v., to please, 1, 1183 
Ennornyt, p.p., adorned, 2, 1572 
Ennoyntit, p.t., anointed, 2, 913 
Ensampil, s., example, 1, 596 
Ensamplar, s., example, 2, 1474 
Entendand, pres, p., intending, 1, 25 
Entent, entente, s., intention, 1, 432, 

844; 2, 581 
Enterit, p.p. , interred, 1, 616 
Entre, v., to enter, 1, 581 
Entrechangeably, adv., each other, 

mutually, 2, 1087 
Enwy, s., envy, 2, 391 
Erand, s. , errand, I, 552, 859 ; //»., 

erandis, 1, 1025 
Erare, con}., rather, 1, 275, 1234 
Eraste, adv., first, 1, 212 
Erbe, s., herb, I, 396 
Erd, erde, s., earth, 2, 11 ; I, 452, 531 



A 2- 



222 



GLOSSARY. 



Erroure, errure, ■>., error, i, 182, 214, 

601 
Eschape, v., to escape, 1, 981 ; p.t., 

eschapit, I, 921 ; p.p., eschapit, I, 

528 
Eschewe, v., to achieve, 1, 826 
Ese, s., ease, 1, 1184 
Ese, v., to ease, 1, 868 
Espy, v., to spy upon, watch. 1, 854 
Ete, v., to eat, 1, 798; 2, 864; p.p., 

etene, 2, 1016 
Etling, s., endeavour, 2, 1388 
Euir, adv., ever, I, 524 
Euire ilkane, pron., every one, I, 459 
Ewine, adj., equal, 1, 270 
Ewine, adv., directly, straight, I, 603 ; 

2, 741 
Expond, v. , to expound, 2, 386 
Eyne, ... plu., eyes, 2, 914 

Fa, s., foe, 1, 850 ; plu., fais, I, 894 

Fadir, faddir, faddur, fadire, s., father, 
I, 348, 415, 642, 663; 2, 1531; 
pass., fadir, 2, 47, 1558 

Fair, faire, adj., fair, beautiful, I, 149, 
260, 540 

Fand, see find 

Fanding, s., tempting, temptation, 1, 
1250, 1255 

Fandit, p.t., tempted, 2, 1385 

Fane, pres. t., cease, stop, end, I, 1162 ; 
p.t., fane, 1, 474; 2, 888. (O. Fr., 
jiner ; achever, terminer, com- 
pleter, finir, etc., Roquefort) 

Fang, s., booty, I, 1098 

Fang, v., to snatch, I, 225 

Fal, v., to fall, 1, 51 

Fald, j-., fold, 1, 446 

Falow, s., fellow, companion, 2, 1346 

Fals, adj., false, 1, 1226 ; 2, 591 

Falset, s., falsehood, I, 344 

Far, fare, adj. , fair, beautiful, 2, 528, 
1182, 1357 

Fare, v., to fare, go, I, 186, 1022 ; z, 
58, 1360; p.t., fure, I, 1400; 
pres. p., farand, I, 194 ; p.p., 
faryne, 1, 194 

Fare, adv., far, 2, 321, 592 ; ful fare, 
very far 

Farleis, s. plu., wonders, 2, 5 

Fasting, fastyng, a. , fasting, I, 59, 7^8 

Fast, faste, adv., fast, quickly, 1, 217, 

499. 535 
Fastis, pres. t., fasts, I, 767 
Fat, s., vat, 2, 219 
Faucht, p.t., fought, 1, 12, 19 
Faute, s., fault, want, 1, 91 
Fawt, ..., fault, 2, 255 
Fawt, s., want, lack, 2, 662, 792 



Fay, s., faith, I, 377 ; 2, 895 

Faylet,^>./., failed, 2, 564 

Fayne, adj., fain, glad, 1, 195, 920, 

1408 
Fayr, ad)., fair, beautiful, I, 538 
Fayre, v., to go, 1, 984 
Fe, s., cattle, I, 152, 441 
Fed, v., to feed, I, 1109; p.t., fede, 

1, 659 

Feil, feile, adj., many, I, 224, 467, 

1030 
Feild, feilde, 1., field, 1, 210; 2, 862 
Feile, v., to feel, 1, 900 
Feit, s. plu., feet, 2, 864, 929 
Fel, adj., cruel, foul, I, 449 ; 2, 602 
Fel, p.t., fell, 1, 574 
Fel, p.t., happened, 2, 571 
Fele, v., to feel, 2, 401 
Fele, adj., many, 2, 195, 121 1 
Fellone, adj., cruel, evil, I, 578, 850, 

mo 
Felloun, adj., cruel, 2, 589 
Fellouny, s., cruelty, hatred, I, 1158; 

2, 392 

Felyng, s., feeling, 2, 606 

Fendis, s. poss. , fiend's, 2, 878 

Fenyeyng, s., feigning, 2, 683 

Fer, adv., far, t, 782 ; 2, 1414 

Ferd, adj., fourth, I, 1265 

Fere, s., company, concourse of people, 

1, 740 

Fere, s., strong, sound, I, 800, 1317 ; 

2, 1 561 

Fere, adv., far, 1, 594 ; 2, 320, 672 
Feris, >.plu., companions, I, 466 
Ferly, s., wonder, marvel, miracle, I, 

349, 407 ; 2, 175 ; plu., ferleis, 

2, 943 ; ferlyis, 1, 642 ; ferlyse, 

I, 1181 
Ferly, v., to wonder, I, 71 ; 2, 361 
Ferly, adv., wonderfully, 2, 748 
Ferlyful, adj., wonderful, I, 544 
Ferine, adj., firm, 2, 482 
Ferme, v., to confirm, 2, 1578 
Fertir, fertire, s., shrine, 1, 733; 2, 1396 
Ferterit, p.p., enshrined, I, 732 
Fers, adj., fierce, 1, 449 
Festiuale, adj., festival, 1, 735 
Fet, fete, s. plu., feet, 1, 370, 455, 958 
Fetryt, p.p. , enshrined, 2, 27 
Fewire, s., fever, 2, 1499 
Feynd, j., fiend, the devil, I, 225 
Find, v., to find, I, 402 ; p.t., fand, I, 

I9'> 399. 4°3. 828 ; p.p., fundine,, 

I, 1402 ; fundyn, I, 832 
Fil, s., fill, 1, 1276 
Fil, v., to fill, 2, 237 ; /./. , fillit, 2, 235 ; 

fillyt, 2, 28 
Fyngyre end, s., finger's end, 2, 566 



GLOSSARY. 



223 



Fische, s., fish, 2, 1015 

Flat, p.t., quarrelled, I, 1219 ; O.E., 

Jlitan, to quarrel 
Fie, v., to flee, fly, shun, 1, 233, 484, 

913 ; p.t., fled, I, 57 ; fleid, 1, 

499 j pres. p., fleand, 1, 911 
Fie, v., to fly, 2, 1179 
Fles, s„ flesh, 1, 53, 1255 ; flesch, I, 

804 
Flet, p.t., floated, 1, 509 
Floure, s., flower, blossom, I, 533; 

plu., flouris, 1, 536 
Flud, ..., flood, 1, 576 
Flynt, s., flint, 2, 707 
Folkis, s. plu., people, men, 1, 856 
Folouyt, p.t., followed, obeyed, 1, 38, 

230 
Fontstane, s., font, fontstone, I, 9 
Forbare, p.t., forbore, avoided, 1, 578 
Forberand, pres. p., avoiding, shunning, 

abstaining from, I, 23 
Forbed, v., forbid, I, 1157 
Fore, rmj., because, 1, 51, 290 
Foreowt, adv., far, 2, 419 
Foreste, s., forest, 1, 914 
Forfarn, p.p., perished, destroyed, 2, 

243 
Forgetil, adj., forgetful, 2, 212 
Forgewine, s., forgiveness, 2, 1026 
ForgifHne, p.p., forgiven, 1, 1264 
Forgifthes, s., forgiveness, 1, 475 
Forgyf, v., to forgive, 2, 610 
Formulare, s., example, 2, 312 
Forow, prep., before, 2, 833 
Forout, prep., without, besides, I, 507, 

761 
Foroutine, prep., without, 2, 1025 
Foroutyn, prep., without, I, 524; 2, 

214 ; foroutyn were, without doubt, 

<■> 5 2 4 
Forrowris, j. plu., foragers, raiders, I, 

1093 
Forsad, adj., foresaid, I, 748 ; 2, 321 

Forsak, v., to forsake, 2. 460 

Forseand, adj., forseeing, 1, 140 

Forseyng, s., foreseeing, Providence, 2, 

1122 
Fostir-sowne, s., foster son, 2, 282 
Fostyre, v., to foster, 2, 43; p.t., fos- 

terit, 2, 48 ; fosteryt, 2, 633 ; p.p., 

fosterit, 2, 49 
Forthi, adv. and conj., therefore, I, 57, 

144, 231 
Forthyr, adv., further, 2, 530 
Forthyrmare, adv., further, farther, I, 

9 5 
Fortone, s., fortune, 1, 826 

Forworthine, adj., undone, 1, 673 

Foule, adj., foul, 1, 57 



Foul, adv., shamefully, 1, 986 
Fow, adj., few, 1, 856 
Fra, adv., fro, 1, 480; adv., when, 1, 
317 ; 2, 73, 143, 295 ; prep., from, 

1, 17, 182, 509, 613; 2, 116, 178 
Frayne, v., to ask, enquire, 1, 196; 

p.t., franit, 1, 321 
Frature, s., refectory, 1, 385 
Fre, adj., free, I, 956 
Frely, adj., noble, 2, 192 ; O.E.,/reolie, 

liberal, noble ; adv., freely, 1, 993 ; 

2, 1404 

Frendis, s. plu., friends, I, 109, 194 
Freste, frist, fryst, s., delay, 2, 1199; 

I, 398 ; 2, 262 ; O.E., first, fyrst, 

space of time, term, respite 
Froite, s., fruit, 1, 536 
Froynttis, s. plu., fronts, the front of the 

upper part of the body, 2, 1547 
Froyt, j., Iruit, 2, 1488 
Fud, s., child, 2, 192 ; O.E.fode, food, 

offspring 
Fude, s., food, I, 387, 1378 
Ful, adj., foul, shameful, misshapen, 

I, 692, 948 ; adv., full, very, I, 252, 

488, 948 
Fulfare, adv., much, sincerely, 2, 909 
Fundine, fundyn, see find 
Fundit, p.t., founded, I, 379 
Fure, see fare 
Furth, adv., forth, henceforth, I, 105, 

700 ; 2, 105 
Furth-schewere, s., shewer-forth, re- 

vealer, 2, 1063 
Fusione, s., abundance, 2, 795 
Fute, j., foot, 1, '630, 792 
Fut-hat, fut-hete, adv., hot-foot, with 

all haste, 1, 104.7, 1205 
Fryst, see freste 

Fyfe, fywe, adj., five, I, 28, 1246 
Fyne, adj., fine, I, 540 
Fynd, v., to find, I, 825 
Fyr, fyre, s., fire, 2, 171, 188, 201 
Fyrst, adj., first, 2, 32 



Ga, v., to go, I, 189, 554; 2, 123; 
2. s. pres. t., gays, 2, 465 ; 2. impera- 
tive, ga, I, 993 ; p.p., gane, I, 460, 
1085 ; 2, 172, 837 

Gadderit, p.t., gathered, i. 205; p.p., 

I. 342 
Gaf, gef, p.t., gave, 2, 146, 348 
Galay, s., galley, 2, 693 
Ganesais, pres. t., gainsays, 2, 767 
Gang, gange, v., to go, I, 461, 603 ; 

pres. p., gangand, 1, 370 ; 2, 75 
Gannand, adj., suitable, 2, 772 
Gannandly, adv., suitably, I, 137 



224 



GLOSSARY. 



Gaste, s., guest, 2, 1097; ad;'., afraid, 

I, 500 
Gastly, adj., spiritual, 2, 1104 
Gat, gate, s., way, 1, 170, 563, 606, 

1 100; 2, 172 ; flu., gattis, 2, H33 
Gat, v. p.t., got, 1, 80, 301 ; pres. plu., 

gettis, 1, 789; p.t., got, begot, I, 

641 
Gatsyd, s., roadside, 1, 897 
Gaynand, adj., fitting, 2, 1299 
Gaynit, p.t., became, 2, 118 
Gebet, s., gibbet, gallows, 1, 976, 980 
Gef, v., to give, I. 468 ; p.t., 1, 52, 

162, 596 
Ger, gere, v., to cause, 1, 55, 75, 624, 

1341 ; p.t., gert, I, 642, pres. p., 

gerrand, 2, 209 
Gestenere, s., entertainment, 2, 1186 
Get, s., way, 2, 821, 825; v., to get, 

obtain, I, 24, 172 ; pres. t. plu., 

gettis, I, 542 
Gettare, s., parent, 2, 116 
Gettyng, s., begetting, 2, 33 
Gewine, p.p., given, 2, 1513 
Giffar, s., giver, I, 809 
GifHne, p.p., given, 1, 1271 
Giffis, pres. t., gives, 1, 600 
Gilt, s., guilt, 1, 985 
Gilty, adj., guilty, 1, 1008 
Glad, p.t., went, 1, 108; O.E., gliden, 

to glide 
Gong, s., latrine, 2, 981 
Gottine, p.p., got, I, 1010; 2, 412 
Gouernande, pres. p., directing, 1, 525 
Gowe, v., to gaze, I, 467 
Grantit, p.t., granted, gave, 1, 190, 

1314 
Grathit, p.t., prepared, 2, 1208 
Grathly, adv., sufficiently, 2, 295 
Grawine, p.p., buried, 2, 841 
Greite, s., weeping, tears, 2, 930 
Grene, adj., green, I, 404 
Gret, v., to weep, I, 248, 642 ; pres. p., 

gretand, I, 248, 519, 688 
Gret, adj., great, 1, 5, 97, 318; 2, 174, 

179 ; colnp. degree, gretare, 1, 594 
Gretumly, adv., greatly, 2, 1333 
Gretyng, s., weeping, 2, 374 
Grew, grou, v., to grow, 1, 410 ; 2, 290; 

p.t., greu, 2, 50; grew, 1, 146; 

pres. p., growand, 1, 49; 2, 86; 

p.p. growine 
Grewe, v., to harm, I, 825 
Gris, s., ointment, 1, 1381 
Grond, s., bottom, 2, 239 
Gud, s., goods, property, I, 1252. 
Gud, adj., 1,4, 65, 388 
Gudmen, s., good men, I, 227 
Gudnes, s., goodness, 1, 50, 250 



Guttis, s. plu., bowels, I, 454 
Gyfe, v., to give, 1, 289 
Gyf, gyfe, conj., if, I, 94, 72 
Gyfte, s., gift, 1, 15, 675 
Gyle, s., guile, 2, 587 

Habandonyt, p.p., abandoned, 2, 817 

Hable, adj„ able, 1, 1433 

Had, s., estate, 1, 374 

Hade, p.t., had, I, 391 

Haf, hafe, v., to have, I, 517, 681, 

1 180; 3. s., pres. t., has, I, 150; 
p.t., had, 2, 752 
Hafand, pres. p. , behaving, conducting, 

1, 42 
Hafyng, s., conduct, 1, 244 
Haile, adj., whole, 1, 138, 523, 1317 
Hailist, p.t. , embraced, 2, 1078 
Hald, v., to hold, 1, 966 ; p.p., haldine, 

1, 580, 643 ; 2, 28 

Hale, j., hall, refectory, dining hall, 1, 

389 
Hale, adj., whole, sound, 1, 114, 139; 

2, 587- 

Hale, adv., well, entirely, I, 343, 428 
Halfe, s., half, side, 1, 755 
Halfine, adv., half, I, 869 
Halfly, adv., half, I, 1418 
Halely, adv., wholly, I, 63 
Hali, adj., holy, I, 175 
Halist, p.t., embraced, 2, 1077 
Halouyt, p.t., hallowed, consecrated, I, 

264 
Hals, s., throat, 2, 1033 
Halt, adj. , halt, lame, I, 791 
Haly, adj., holy, 1, 167 
Halynes, s., holiness, I, 493 
Ham, .,., home, I, 882; 2, 97 
Hame, s., home, I, 200, 707 
Hamely, adj., intimate, I, 851, 853 
Hamewart, adv., homewards, I, 170 ; 

2, 1327 ; hamewarte, I, 163 
Handis, s. plu., hands, I, 158, 1014 
Hangit, p.p., hanged, I, 1014 
Hankis, pres. t., entangles, 2, 1354 
Hapnyt, p.t., happened, 2, 173 
Hard, p.t., herd, 1, 909 
Hardy, adj., hardy, stout, I, 819 
Hare, s., hair, 2, 189, 247 
Harlit, p.p., dragged, I, 1015 
Hart, s., heart, I, 41, 283, 685 ; plu., 

hartis, 1, 88 
Hartly, adv., heartily, 2, 609 
Hast, 1., haste, I, 176 
Haste, v., to hasten, I, 207 
Hate, adj., hot, i, 564 
Haw, j., delay, 1, 910 
Hayre, s., hair, 1, 1046 
Heare, adj. camp., higher, 2, 303 



GLOSSARY. 



225 



Hecht, /.*., promised, I, 1167 

Hed, hede, s., head, 1, 279, 301, 654; 

2, 247 
Heft, s., handle, 1, 1138 
Heicht, p.t., promised, 2, 843 
Heid, s., head, 2, 1551 
Heile, s., heel, 1, 650. 
Heile, cure, healing, i, 301, 543, 796 
Heily, adv., loudly, I, 902 
Hel. s., hell, 1, 1272 
Held, helde, /./., held, 1, 665, 700 
Heldit, p.t., inclined, 2, 601 
Hele, s., cure, healing, 1, 303 ; 2, 800 
Helpe, s., help, I, 498 
Helpe, v., to help, 1, 364, 999 ; pres. t., 

helpis, 1, 995 ;p.t., helpyt, 1, 1021; 

pres. p„ helpand, II, II; p.p., 

helpyne, 1, 1218 
Helping, s., assistance, 1, 879 
Hely, adv., loudly, I, 295 
Hend, adj., back, I, 653 
Her, v., to hear, 2, 304 
Her, adv., here, 1. 680, 689 
Herbry, s., lodging, 2, 1080 
Herd, adj., hard, 2, 1503 
Here, v., to hear, 1, 148, 968, 978 ; 2, 

174; p.t., herd, 1, 145 ; pres. p., 

herand, 2, 627 ; p.p., herd, 1, 950 
Heretable, adj., heritable, 2, 92 
Heryng, herynge, s., hearing, i, 789; 

2, 1583 
Het, s., heat, 2, 180 
Hething, /., mockery, 2, 976 
Hewine, .>., heaven, I, 724 ; 2, 1356 
Hewinly, adj., heavenly, 1, 56 
Hewy, adj., heavy, I, 702 
Hewyn, s., heaven, 1, 269, 365 
Hevynly, adj., heavenly, 2, 396 
Hey, adv., high, 1, 587; 2, 1131 ; 

comp., heare, 2, 303 ; heyere, 2, 

1 129 
Hicht, s., high, 2, 81 
Hicht, s., promise, 2, 1162; p.p., called, 

I, 818 ; pres. p., hichtand, I, 1238 ; 

p.t., promised, 1, 1143. 
Hiddir, adv., thither, 2, 1242 
Hie, adv., high, loudly, 2, 248 
Hird, j., herd, 1, 152, 362 ;plu., hirdis, 

1, 441 
Hir, hire, pron., her, 1, 315, 321, 322 
Hofine, p.p., baptized, 2, 162 
Hoile, s., hole, 1, 515 ; plu., hoilis, I, 

505 ; holis, 1, 375 
Hone, s., delay, 2, 1558 
Honeste, adj., honest, 1, 481 
Honoure, v., to honour, I, 31 
Hopyt,/.?., feared, 2, 242 
Hors, s., horse, 1, 630, 1121 
Hou, adv. , how, I, 30, 601 



Housband, adj., farm, 1, 867 ; housband 

ton, a farm, I, 867 
How, j., hood, 1, 1046 
How-gat, adv., in what way, I, 1048 
Ho wine, baptized, 1, 9 
Howne, s., delay, 2, 141 1 
Huke, s., hook, reaping hook, I, 94 
Humylyte, s., humility, 2, 403 
Hundir, adj., hundred, I, 613 
Hy, s., haste, 1, 40; 2, 1073; In til 

hy, quickly 
Hycht, s., height, 1, 269, 587. 
Hycht, p.p., called, 2, 541, 743 
Hyddir, adv., hither, 1, 758 
Hye, adj., high; I, 1412 ; 2, 12 
Hym, hyme, pron., himself, 1, 286; 2, 

34 ; him, 1, 417 
Hymselfe, pro. , himself, 1, 20 
Hyne, adv., thence,' 2, 904 
Hynt, p.p., seized, took, I, 1046; 2, 

197 
Hyr, hyre, pron., her, 2, 170, 171 
Hyreself,/n7«. , herself, 2, 190 

Idilness, s., sloth, I, 233, 311 

II, s., ill, evil, 1, 62; adj., ill, evil, I, 
203 

He, .>., isle, 2, 488 

like, adj. each, every, I, 188, 590, 750 

In, prep., on, into, I, 170, 550; 2, 1565 ; 
in al degre, in every way, 1, 706 ; 
in al syd, on all sides, 2, 410 ; in 
haste, quickly, I, 327 ; in hy, 
quickly, 1, 326 ; in lytil space, in a 
short time, 1, 113 ; in sic degre, in 
such a way, I, 332 

Infourme, v., to instruct, 2, 705 

Innocens, s., innocence, 1, 47 ; 2, 343 

Inuch, adj., enough, 1, 68, 131 

Ioy, s., joy, I, 709 

Into, prep., in, I, 3, 21, 96, 611 ; 2, 94 

Invirone, adv., round, I, 437 

Invirroune, adv. , round, 2, 927 

Inwy, s., envy, 2, 387, 613 

Irk, adj., weary, 2, 360 

Irke, v., to grow weary, I, 70 

Is, 2. s. pres. t.; art, I, 366 

Ithand, adj., diligent, I, 240 

Ithandly, adv., constantly, I, 764; 2, 
103 

Iugment, *., judgment, I, 341 

Iwil, adj., evil, 1, 1212 

Ken, kene, v., to teach, 1, 482 ; 2, 383; 

p.p. kene, 1, 1341 
Ken, pres. t., know, 2, 29 
Kend, p.t., knew, 1, 1366 
Kepare, s., keeper, 1, 310, 450; plu., 
iris, 1, 1011 



226 



GLOSSARY. 



Kepe, s., care, heed, I, 443, 701 
Kepe, v. to keep, 1, 152, 336, 1064 ; 
p.t., kepit, 1, 12, 988, kepyt, 1, 17 
Keping, s., keeping, care, I, 391 
Kest, v., to cast, 1, 341 
Keyne, = kine, s., kindred, 2, 1443 
Kind, s., nature, 1, 358 
Kine, s., kindred, 1, 1362 
Kine, /., kind of, 2, 1303 
Kindly, adj., natural, 2, 1 121 
Kingis, s. poss., king's, 2, 323 
Kirk, s., church, I, 378 ; 2, 161 
Kirkmen, s. plu., ecclesiastics, I, 560 
Kiste, j., chest, tomb, I, 617 
Kith, j., kith, 2, 446 
Kithis, pres. t., shows, I, 765 
Knaf, adj., male, 2, 109 
Knafe, ad]., male, I, 641 
Knavlege, s., knowledge, I, 130 
Knawine, s., knowledge, 2, 1 1 36 
Knaw, v., to know, 1, 171 ; p.t., kneu, 
I, 142 ; knew, I, 904 ; p.p., knaw- 
ine, 1, 109, 715 ; 2, 429 
Knawlag, s., knowledge, 2, 56 
Kne, 1., knee, 1, 655, 1371 ; 2, 170 
Knyfe, s., knife, 1, 11 39 
Knyt, p.t., tied, I, 982 
Ky, s., cows, I, 1121 
Kyd, adj., known, 1, 1447 
Kyd, p.p. made known, 1, 1335 
Kynd, s., nature, 1, 649 ; 2, 146 
Kyne, s., lineage, kindred, I, 5, 99; 2, 

3 2 3. 448 
Kyst, v., to cast, 2, 637 
Kyssyt, p.t., kissed, 2, 730 



Lachful, adj., lawful, 1, 660 

Lacht, p.t., took, 1, 188 

Lachtful, adj., lawful, I, 1072 

Lad, p.t. and p.p., laid, 1, 1028 ; z, 

1402 
Lafe, s., rest, 2, 603 
Laiffe, s., rest, remainder, 2, 920 
Lais, pres. t., lays, I, 741 
Lak, s., reproach, 1, 644 
Lake, v., to blame, to be reproached, 

ashamed of, I, 652. 
Land, s., land, people of the land, I, 915 
Lang, adj., long, 1, 718; conip., langere, 
Lande, s., land, I, 305 

2, 624; adv., long, I, 226 
Language, s. plu., languages, 2, 308 
Langare, adv. comp., longer, 2, 432 
Langsum, adv., long, tedious, 2, 1237 
Lap, lape, p.t., leaped, I, 507, 527 ; 2, 

1033 
Lare, s., knowledge, wisdom, instruc- 
tion, 1, 25, 127, 274; 2, 682 



Large, adj., liberal, I, 243 
Larges, s., bounty, 2, 989 
Lar, j-. imper., let, I, 1116 ; p.p., latine, 

2. 91 
Late, adj., late, I, 26 
Lath, adj., loathe, 2, 825 ; hateful, I, 

308 
Lath, p.t., loathed, 1, 664 
Lathly, adj., loathsome, I, 677 
Latine,/./., let, 2, 91 
Laucht, v. p.t., received, 1, n 
Lave, s., rest, remainder, 2, 535 
Lavntern, jr., lantern, 1, 599 
Law, s., low, 2, 1131 
Lawe, s., rest, remainder, 2, 172, 250, 

775 
Lawide, adj., unlearned, lay, 2, 1416 
Lawit, adj., lay, I, 561 
Lay, -v., to lay, 2, 125 ; p.t., lay,. I, 

324;/./., layd, 2, 138 
Led, v., to rule, direct, conduct, I, 29 
Ledar, s., leader, I, 606 
Leding, s., leading, governing, 1, 820 
heland, pres. p., living, 1, 621 
Lefe, j., leave, permission, 1, 162 
Lef, lefe, leff, v., to leave, I, 601, 

1172 ; 2, 623, 1361 ; p.t., I, 686 
Leid, p.t., led, 2, 108 1 
Leif, s., leave, I, 108. 
Leif, v. , to leave, abandon, I, 236 
Leikis, s. plu., leeks, I, 404 
Leile, adj., legal, 1, 1050 
Leile, leal, faithful, true, I, 241, 591, 

728 
Leit, p.t., let, 2, 904 
Lele, adj., loyal, 2, 106 
Lely, adv., faithfully, I, 1143 
Lend, v., to dwell, I, 638 
Lending, j., place of dwelling, 2, 1169 
Lent, p.t., lent, given, I, 363;/./., I, 

55. 1339 
Lere, v., to learn, 1, 27, 63, 66; 2, 

356 ; p.t., I, 70 ; 2, 360 ; to teach, 

I, 159; 2, 331, 381, 855 
Les, adj. comp., less, 1, 45, 443 
Lessinge, s., lying, falsehood, I, 941 
Lessone, s., learning, 1, 340 
Lestand, adj., lasting, enduring, 1, 424 
Lestand, pres. p., lasting, I, 747 
Lestandly, adv., everlastingly, I, 638 
Leste, s., least, 2, 1330 
Lestis, pres. t., lasts, remains, I, 456 
Let, s., hindrance, 1, 10 15 
Let, v., to hinder, prevent, I, 56 ; 2, 

352 ; P-P; lettyt, 2, 449 
Lethand, adj., unwilling, 2, 486 
Letteryt, adj., educated, 2, 957 
Letting, s., hindrance, I, 112 
Levit, p.t., left, I, 100 



GLOSSARY. 



227 



LeweJ s., leave, permission, 2, 453. 

Lewe, v., to leave, 2, 217, 463 

Leyde, v., to lead, 2, 1475 

Leyrit, p.t., learned, 1, 33 

Leyryt, p.t., learned, 2, 297 

Leyne, adj., lean, poor, 2, 987 

Lif, s., life, 1, 356, S9S. i°76 

Lif, life, v., to live, 1, 290, 1355; 

pres. t., litis, I, 719; p.t., lifit, I, 

428 ; pres. p., lifand, I, 939 ; 2, 36 
Lifte, s., sky, 1, 572 
Litil, adj., little, 1, 410 
Lof, s., love, 2, 1528. 
Lof, p.t., lived, 2, 940 
Lofand, pres. p., praising, I, 411, 304 
Lofare, s., lover, 1, 723 
Lofe, s., praise, I, 592 
Lofing, s., praise, I, 699 
Lofiit, p.t., praised, 1, 587 
Llone, p.t., lent,, 2, 1434. O.E., lanan, 

to lend 
Lorde, s., lord, master, 1, 321 
Lome, adj., lost, perishing, 1, 90, 134 
Loud, adv. , loud, loudly, 2, 189 
Lousit, p.p., loosed, 2, 1516 
Lowable, adj., praiseworthy, 1, 252 
Lowe, s., praise, 1, 468 
Lowing, s., praise, 2, 28, 100 
Lowing for lewing, s., living, 1, 596 
Lowinge, s., praise, 1, 415 
Lowit, p.t., praised, 1, 360, 413 ; p.p., 

2, 390 
Lowyng, s., praise, 1, 265 
Lowyt, p.t., praised, 2, 554 
Lud, adv., loud, loudly, 2, 185 
Luf, s., love, 2, 760 
Lufit, p.t., loved, 2, 400 
Lufyt, p.t., loved, 2, 632 
Lug, s., lodging, I, 433 
Lugit, p.p., lodged, 1, 856 
Luke, v., to look, see, I, 93, 568 
Luste, s., lust, 1,-317 
Ly, v., to lie, 2, 72, 196 ; pres. t., lyis, 

2, 1311 ; pres. p., lyand, 2, 196 
Lycht, s., light, i, 282; 2, 567. 
Lycht, v., to alight, 2, 60 
Lychtly, adv., lightly, gently, I, 696 
Lycure, s., liquor, 2, 605 
Lyf, v., to live, 2, 668 
Lyfe, s., life, 1, 50 
Lyftyme, s., lifetime, 2, 1405 
Lyfyng, s., living, life, 2, 322 
Lyk, adv., like, 1, 77, 871 
Lyking, s., pleasure, 1, 709 
Lyme, s., lime, I, 260, 1370 
Lymmys, s., limbs, I, 704 
Lyne, s., line, I, 743 
Lyt, s., light, 2, 564 
Lytil, adj., little, 1, 67 ; 2, 570 



Ha, z>., to make, I, 157. 

Ma, v., may, 1,75, 83, 84. 

Ma, adj. comfi., more, 1, 624 

Macht, s., might, power, 1, 12. At his 

macht, with all his might, I, 12 
Mad, p.t. and p.p. made, 1, 65, 107, 

'Si 
Maister, maistere, s., master, 1, 35, 74 
Maister, adj., chief, 1, 451; maister thef, 

ringleader 
Mak, v., to make, 1, 60, 127, 259 
Mane, s., man, 1, 36, 304; poss., 1, 

35 1. 986 
Mar, mare, adv. comp., more, 1, 277, 

. 666, 1242 
Masonis, s. plu., masons, 1, 190 
Mast, maste, aaj. supl., most, 1, 212, 

515, 742; 2, 115 
Mastere, s., master, 1, 38 
Mawmeutis, s.plu., idols, 2, 818 
Maydine, s., maiden, I, 306 
Mayne, s., main, strength, 2, 8 
Med, s., reward, I, 56 
Medful, adj., meritorious, 1, 86 
Meke, adj., meek, I, 237, 1175 
Mekil, adj., great, I, 3 
Mekill, adj., much, 2, 1566 
Mekilly, adv., meekly, 1, 293 
Meknes, s., meekness, 1, 45 
Memor, s., memory, 1, 1086 
Mend, v., to mend, heal, I, 1209 
Mene, s. plu., men, 1, 1342 
Menskis, pres. t., honours, 1, 731 ; p.t. 

menskyt, I, 418 
Menstrale, s., minstrel, I, 889 
Mengye, s., company, servants, 2, 1024 
Menye, s., company, servants, 2, 226 
Merakle, s., miracle, 1, 593 ; plu., 

merakles, I, 620 
Merdale, s., rabble, camp followers, I, 

921 ; O. Fr., merdaille, a dirty crew 
Merring, s., marring, defeat, 2, 918 
Meryt, s., merit, I, 518 
Merwalis, s., miracles, I, 764 
Mes, s., mass, 1, 696, 770 
Messagis, s., messenger, 1, 292 
Meswryt, p.t., measured, 2, 1036 
Met, mete, s., meat, food, I, 23, 385 ; 

1460; 2, 424, 1596 
Met, adj., measured, 1, 1406 
Meyne, v., to think, z, 703, 1 161 
Meynetyme, s., meantime, 1, 165 
Mikel, adj., much, great, I, 556 
Mirknes, s. darkness, I, 603 
Misfigur, s., misfigure, misshapen thing, 

I, 682 
Mistrew, v., to misbelieve, 2, 1586 
Modir, modire, modyre, s., mother, 1, 

30, 354, 642 



228 



GLOSSARY. 



Mocht, p.t., micht, i, 461, 896 
Mon. v., must, 1, 1283 
Mony, adj., many, i, 168, 181, 478 
Mony ane, many a one, I, 1352 
Monyfald, adv., manifold, I, 413 
Morne, s., morrow, I, 1009 
Morneday, s., morrow, I, 462 
Mot, 2, s. imper., may, I, 1125 ; 2, 767 
Mycht, s. power, 1, 513, 1227 
Mycht, p.t., might, 1, 20 
Mychtfull, ad]., mighty, 2, 941 
Mychty, adj. , mighty, I, 5 
Mychtty, adj., mighty, I, 421 
Mydnycht, s., midnight, I, 691 
Mykil, adj., great, much, 1, 6, 90 
Myl, myle, s., mile, I, 737, 1406; plu., 

mylys, 1, 1403 
Myld, adj., gentle, 2, 1556 
Myn, prim., my, I, 1299; 2, 448 
Mynd, .>., memory, mind, I, 931, 1384 
Myne, adj. comp., less, 2,268 
Myngyt, adj., mingled, 2, 584 
Myrke, adj., dark, 1, 570; comp., 

myrkare, I, 573 
Myrknes, s., darkness, I, 600 
Myrroure, s., mirror, 2, 945 
Mys, myse, s., evil, wrong, mischief, I, 

354. 5 ZI > 944 5 2, 594 
Mysdid, p.t., wronged, 2, 712 
Mysdoaris, s. plu., evil doers, 1, 967 
Mysdone, p.p. , done wrong, I, 487 
Myskennand, pres. p., misunderstand- 
ing, 2, 828 
Myslary, s., leprosy, I, 808 
Myssale, .>. plu., lepers, 2, 546 
Myssit, p.t., missed, 2, 502 
Myste, j-., mist, fog, 1, 895 
Mystere, s., need, 1,498 ; 2, 782 
Mysterful, adj., needful, I, 134 1 
Mystrouth, s., untruth, wrong, I, 215 
Mystrowand, pres. p., mistrusting, 1, 
I3°3 

Na, adj., no, I, 84; adv. and conj., no, 

1, 61, 156; 1, 157, 158. 
Na . . . na, conj., nor . . . nor, 

I, 584 
Na way, no wise, in no way 
Nakit, adj., naked, 2, 139 
Nam, i., name, fame, 1, 252, 479 ; 2, 

320 
Namely, adv., especially, 2, 385 
Namys, s. plu., names, 2, 1277 
Nan, nane, adj., no, I, 71, 261, 372, 

396 
Nanys, adv., for the nonce, 2, 1569 
Nathing, j., nothing, 2, 374 
Ne, adv., not, 2, 1582 
Ne ware, it were not, I, 1 168 



Ned, nede, s., need, 1, 87, 212 ; 2,* 1300 

Nedful, adj., necessary, I, 131 

Nedis, pres. t., needs, 2, 15 17 

Nehtbour, adj., neighbourly, 2, 1528 

Neide, t., need, I, 405 

Nek, s., neck, I, 982; 2, 812 

Nemmyt, p.p., named, 2, 153 

Nere, adv., near, I, 614, 737 

Nerehand, adv., near, 1008 

Nerraste, adv. superl., nearest, 1, 1401 

Neste, adv. snperl., next, I, 653 ; 2, 

1154 
Neuir, adv., never, 1, 282 
Neuire, adv., never, I, 1008 
Neuirtheles, conj., nevertheless, I, 46 
Nev, adv., newly, I, 406 
Newis, s. plu., hands, 2, 251 
Nicht, v., to approach, 2, 180, 1139 
Nocht, s., nothing, I, 307 
Nocht, adv., not, 1, 16, 134, 367, 426 
Nocht-thane, conj., nevertheless, 1, 659; 

2, 9° 
None, s., noon, 1, 1027 
Noryse, s., nurse, 2, 169 
Nothir, adj., neither, 1, 584 ; nothir 

. . . na, neither . . . nor, 2, 184 
Nov, adv., now, I, 366, 623, 768 
Noone, j., noon, 1, 1, 769 
Nowmir, s., number, 1, 759 
Nowt, j., cattle, 1, 1121 
Noyus, adj., unhappy, 2, 1419 
Noyt, p.p., annoyed, I, 330 
Nuk, s., nuke, corner, 2, 658 
Nummyn, p.p., taken, I, 1202 
Nuryse, s., nurse, 2, 47 
Nyched, p.p., come nigh, 2, 264 
Nycht, s., night, I, 79, 442, 573 
Nychtboure, s., neighbour, 2, 316 
Nytit, p.t., denied, refused, 2, 1027 



Obeis, v., to obey, 2, 1042 

Obeysand, pres. p., obedient, 2, 210 

Ocht, s., aught, 1, 276, 1146 

Of, ofe, prep., of, out of, I, 286, 635, 
702, 813, 1107; 2, 230, 593, 603; 
of case, by chance, 2, 107 

Offens, s., offence, 2, 344 

Offerand, s., offering, I, 928 

Offerit, p.t., offered, 1, 1413 

Ofspryng, s., offspring, 2, 766 

Ofte, adv., often, I, 313 

Oftyme, adv., often, I, 762 

Oftymys, adv., often, 2, 879 

Ogart. s., pride, I, 334 

On, prep., on, I, 298, 449, 557 ; 2, 170 ; 
towards, I, 706 ; on hors, on horse- 
back, 1, 884 ; on slepe, asleep, 1, 
444; on thinke, to think, 1, 512 



GLOSSARY. 



229 



Onane, adv., immediately, thereon, 2, 

869 
One, prep., on, 1, 289, 293, 451, 455, 

586, 700, 759, 76s, 785, 822, 863 ; 

2, 60, 566 
One ane, adv., immediately, 1, 857. 
Onone, adv., immediately, 2, 868 
Ony, adj., any, 1, 308 
Opartunyte, s., opportunity, 1, 845 
Opnyt, p.t., opened, 1, 568 
Opunyone, s., opinion, 2, 1250 
Opynly, adv., openly, I, 1030 ; 2, 618 
Or, adv., before, 1, 1044, 1162; 2, 90, 

no, 885 
Oracione, s., prayer, 1, 239 ; 2, 681 
Orator, s., oratory, 2, 1507 
Ore, adv., before, 1, 28, 70, 189, 206, 

474. 496, 1027 
Ore, conj., or, 1, 76, 135, 185, 597. 

788, 792 
Oste, j., host, 1, 875, 1088 
Othir, conj., either, I, 681, 1249 
Oure, pron., our, 1, 346 
Oure, prep., over, 1, 100, 502; 2, 112, 

556 
Ouretak, v., to overtake, 2, 636 
Oure-weile, adv. , over well, I, 1335 
Ourecume, v., to overcome, 2, 342 ; 

p.t., ourecome, 1, 46 
Ourgane, p.p., passed, I, 618 
Ourmen, s., overmen, superiors, teachers, 

1, 43 ; masters, 2, 340 
Outane, prep, except, 2, 1541 

Oute, adv., out, 1, 454; prep., outside, 

2, 174 

Outray, s., violence, I, 1284 
Owtane, prep., except, 1, 1444 
Owte, adv., out, 1, 448 
Oyse, s., use, practice, custom, 1, 704, 
756 ; 2, 1 

Paip. Pope, 2, 1247 ; Papis, poss., 1, 106 

Pane, j., pain, 1, 803, 990 

Pardone, s„ pardon, 1, 289 

Parel, parele, j., peril, 1, 528, 954; 

plu., parilis, I, 784 
Parfit, partite, parfyte, adj., perfect, 

1, 96, 127, 609 
Parfitly, adv., perfectly, 1, 796 
Parise, adj., parish, 1, 324 
Parlesy, s., palsy, 1, 795 ; 2, 1593 
Paroch, s. plu., parishes, 1, 371 
Paroche, adj., parish, 1, 558 
Partand, pres. p., dividing, 1, 371 
Parteyne, v., pertain, 2, 1203 ; p.t., 

partenyt, i, 375 
Pas, v., to pass, I, 95, 398; pase, 2, 
45 6 . 549; P-'-, passit, I, 100, 551 ; 

2, 520 



Patent, s., staff, 1, 495, 525 

Patron, s., patron, 2, 12 

Patrone, s., example, 2, 1433. O. Fr., 

patron, patron, pattern 
Patronoure, s., patron, 1, 934 
Pautener, pautenere, adj., rascally, 

ribald, I, 850, mi 
Payne, s., care, pain, 1, 210, 1407 
Payeme, adj., pagan, heathen, 2, 877 
Payene, for payeme, 2, 944 
Paynefull, adj., painful, 2, 1342 
Pece, 8., peace, 2, 722 
Percace, percase, adv., by chance, I, 

551. 893 

Perfeccione, s., perfection, 2, 470 

Perlesy, s. , palsy, I, 1262 

Persawing, s., perception, 2, 375 

Persawit, p.t., perceived, saw, 2, 392 

Persecutore, s., persecutor, I, 722 

Pertly, adv., openly, 1, 1043 

Pilgerame, s., pilgrim, 2, 1218 

Pitte, s., pity, 2, 1029 

Placis, s. plu., places, I, 855 

Play, s., play, I, 22 

Playne, adv., plane, I; 209; mad playne, 
levelled 

Pleisit, p,t., pleased, 1, 546 

Plentusly, adv., plentifully, 1, 104 

Plentuss, adj., plentiful, I, 426 

Plentwis, adj. , plenteous, 2, 1067 

Pies, v., to please, I, 1126 

Plucht, s., plough, 1, [32 

Poysone, s., poison, 2, 582 

Poyssone, s., poison, 2, 602 

Pouer, adj., poor, 1, 726 

Pray, /., prey, 1, 1096, 1099 

Pray and, ^r«. p., praying, I, 577 

Prayere, s., prayer, I, 59 

Prayt, p.t., preyed upon, spoiled, rav- 
aged, 1, 1095 ; 2. 84 

Preche, v., to preach, I, 91 ; 2, 541 ; 
p.t., 2, 850; pres. p., I, 254 

Preching, s., preaching, I, 273 

Prechyng, s., preaching, 1, 221 

Prese, v., to press, 1, 235 

Presens, s., presence, I, 198 ; 2, 1050 

Present, p.t., presented, 1, 14 

Presit, p.t., pressed, 1, 979 

Presoner, s., prisoner, I, 1134 

Presonere, s., prisoner, I, 1123 

Pressone, s., prison, I, 946 

Prest, preste, j., priest, 1, 245, 324, 

329. 978 
Prestede, s., priesthood, 1, 332 
Pridyt, p.t., prided, 2, 402 
Printeise, s. plu., disciples, 2, 806 
Printeyss, s. plu., disciples, 2, 699 
Printyce, s., prentice, disciple, 2, 632 
Printyse, s., disciple, 2, 653 



B 2 



230 



GLOSSARY. 



Prinlyt, p.t., impressed, 2, 305 
Priuely, adv., privily, 1, 496 
Priute, s., secrets, 2, 11 18 
Priwe, adj., intimate, 2, 1019 
Priwely, adv., secretly, I, 862 
Priwete, 1., secrets, 2, 397, 444 
Procese, s., process, I, 537 
Profe, v., to prove, I, 6g3 
Profet, s., prophet, 2, 17 
Profytable, adj., profitable, 2, 521 
Profyte, .)., profit, I, 657 
Prowyng, s., trial, 1, 1249 
Pryd, s., pride, 1, 286 
Puple, s., people, 1, 92, 336, 1460 
Purchas, v., to prefer, I, 1234 
Purchasit, p.t., obtained, I, 474 
Purwayt, p.t., purveyed, 2, 1316 
Pynful, adj., painful, I, 963 
Pyt, s., pit, 1, 963 
Pyte, s., pity, 1, 469 
Pytisly, adv., piteously, 2, 253 



Quaquand, adj., quaking, 2, 1018 
Quartare, s., quarter, I, 737 
Quere, s., choir, 1, 930 
Quha, pron., who, 1, 322 
Quhaeuir,^«»., whoever, 2, 17 
Quham, pron., whom, 1, 1263 
Quhame, pron., whom, I, 810 
Quhar, quhare, adv., where, I, 73, 855; 

2, 841 
Quhareeuir, adv., wherever, 2, 456 
Quharein, adv., wherein, 1, 973, 1340 
Quhasa, pron., whoso, I, 86, 951 ; 2, 

1040 
Quhat, pron., what, 1, 120; 2, 126 
Quhateuir, quhateuire, pron., whatever, 

1. 4° ; 2, 33° 
Quhat-kine, what kind of, 805 
Quheine, adj., few, I, 921 
Quhemfull, adj., pleasing, 2, 1339 
Quhen, quhene, adv., when, I, 135, 

991; 2, 21 
Quhethir, conj., whether, 1, 13S4 
Quhilk, pron., which, I, 732; 2, 45 
Quhile, s. , while, a short space of time, 

1, 738, 929 
Quhile, adv., once, I, 1254 
Quhilkis, pron., which, 1, 787 
Quhill, adv., until, 2, 1221, 1280 
Quhon, adj., few, I, 1092 
Quhy, pron. , why, 1, 119 
Quhyle, adv., once, 2, 35 
' Quhy Ik, pron. , which, 2, 48 
Quhyne, adv., whence, 1, 120 
Quhyt, adv., quite, I, 1336 
Quhyle, .>., time, 2, 16 
Quyet, s., quiet, 2, 668 



Quyk, adj., living, alive, I, 2 ; 2, 271 
Quyt, v., to pay, I, 268 



Racht, p.t., reached, fetched, gave, I, 

453 
Rad, adj , afraid, fearful, I, 948, IOOI 
Rade, s., raid, I, 901 
Rade, p.t., rode, I, 863 
Raf, p.t., tore, 2, 189 
Ran, rane, p.t., ran, 1, 478, 503, 667 ; 

2, 773 . 
Rane, s., rain, 1, 574, 581 
Rape, s., rope, I, 977 
Rare, s., noise, 2, III 
Raryt, p.t., roared, 2, 145, 189 
Ras, p.t., rose, 2, 1 1 44 
Rase,/./., rose, I, 586 
Rath, s., quarter, I 77 2 
Rath, adv., quickly, I, 1036; 2, 725, 

1020 
Rathly, adv., quickly, I, 1 197 
Raxit, p.t., stretched, I, 703, 1325 
Reconsel, v., to reconcile, 2, 719 
Recouer, v., to restore, I, 679 
Recouerit, p.t., recovered, I, 703 
Red, v., to read, I, 33, 266 ; pres. /., 

red, I, 77 ; 2, 367 ; reddis, 2, 

1040 
Rede, v., to take counsel, 2, 577 
Redy, adj., ready, I, 107 
Ref, v., to take, I, 1 140 
Reft, p.t., tore, 2, 251 
Regrat, .>., regret, 2, 734 
Reherse, v., to rehearse, repeat, I, 62 
Reklesly, adv., recklessly, 2, 254 
Relegiouse, s., religious, clerics, I, 380 
Releife, v., to provide, furnish, I, 161 
Relewit, p p., relieved, I, 924 
Relik, •>., relique, 2, 1406 ' 
Relygione, s., religion, 2, 406 
Relykis, y., reliques, I, 161, 731 
Remed, remede, j., remedy, I, 681 ; 2, 

120 
Remembryng, s., remembrance, I, 532 
Renone, s., renown, I, 143, 149 
Reparit, p.t., repaired, went, 1, 925 
Repentyt, p.t., repented, 2, 713 
Reprovit, p.t., reproved, 2, 484 
Requerand, pres. p. , asking, I, 533 
Requirit, p.p., required, I, 358 
Requiryt, p.t., desired, 2, 1107 
Resawe, v., to receive, 2, 902 
Resawit, p.t., received, I, 117 
Resuscit, p.p., resuscitated, 1, 472 
Retenu, s., retinue, 1, 1103 
Retentywe, adj., retentive, 1, 42 ; 2, 

338 
Reucht, s., pity, 2, 911 



GLOSSARY. 



231 



Reuengit, p.p., revenged, 2, 978 
Rew, v., to have pity, 1, 289 
Rewlit, p.p., ruled, I, 1 1 32 
Richt, adv., right, very, 1, 39, 143, 280, 

606 
Richtwisnes, s., righteousness, 2, 1357 
Rik, s., kingdom, 2, 1558 
Rist, v., to rest, I, 564 
Rout, j., blow, I, 453 
Roydely, adv., rudely, 1, 1302 
Ruf, s., roof, 2, 60 
Ragyt, p.t., tore, 2, 247 
Ruschit, p.t., rushed, 1, 451 ; 2, 259 
Rut, s., root, 1, 539 

Ry. s -> r ye, 2, 988 

Rycht, s., law, 1, 1072 
Rycht, s., right, 2, 92 
Rycht, adj., right, very, I, 217 
Rycht, v., to set right, I, 1308 
Rycht, adv., very, just, 1, 150, 195 
Rydand, prts. p., riding, I, 893 
Ryde, v., to ride, 1 885 ; 2, 52 
Rynge, v., to ring, 1, 714 
Rynnand, pres. p. , running, I, 1375 
Rypare, adj. corny., riper, maturer, I, 

20 ; 2, 301 
Rype, aaj., ripe, mature, 1, 610 
Ryse, v., to rise, I, 698, 874 
Rysine, p.p., risen, 1, 1078 



Sa, adv., so, I, 17 

Sad, p.t., said, told, 1, 147, 295, 587 

Sadly, adv., heavily, I, 1416 

Saeuir, adj., soever, I, 549 

Safe, v., to save, I, 436 

Safit,/./., saved, I, 1 167 

Sagat, adv., in such wise, 1069 

Saile, s., sail, 2, 489 

Saile, z>., to sail, 2, 486 

Sait, p.t., sat, 2, 1068 

Sake, 1., sake, I, 1074 

Sakles, adj., innocent, I, 355 

Sal, pres. t., shall, 2, 31 

Sammyn, sammyne, adj., same, I, 305, 

309 ; 2, 403 
Samplar, s., example, 2, 1439 
Sanctis, s. plu., saints, 1, 103 
Sang, s., song, 2, 1566 
Sanyt, p.t., made the sign of the cross 

over, 2, 599 
Sare, s., sore, illness, I, 1233 
Sare, adj., sore, 1, 685, 765 
Sare, adv., sore, sorely, I, 519, 642 
Sark, s., shirt, I, 1080 
Saufe, v., to save, I, 1 143 
Saul, s., soul, 2, 351 
Saule-heile, s., health of soul, salvation, 

I. 592 



Savor, Saviour, 1, 699 

Sawete, s., safety, 2, 641 

Sawit, p.t., saved, 2, 271 

Sawle, s., soul, I, 55 

Sawle-heile, j. , salvation, healing of 

souls, 1, 727 
Sawine, p.p., sown, 1, 406 
Saw, v., to sow, 1, 87; 2, 988; pres. p., 

sawand, 2, 906 ; p.p., sawyne, 1, 

203 
Say, v., to say, tell, I, 276, 323 ; 

pres. t., say, I, I ; 2. s. pres. t., 

sais, I, 1 16S ; pres. p., sayand, I, 

'57 
Say, adv., so, 2, 583 
Sayle, v., to sail, 2, 524 
Saylyt, /./., sailed, 2. 487 
Scalit, /./., scattered, 1, 914, 1093 
Scham, schame, s., shame, 1, 644, 708; 

2, 1013 
Schane, p.t., shone, 1, 167, 594 ; 2, 318 
Schank, s., leg, limb, 1, 1371 ; 2, 1590 
Schape, s., shape, 2, 871 
Scharpare, adj. comp., sharper, 2, 670 
Schau, v., to sow, 1, 133 
Schauyt, p.p. , shown, 2, 1319 
Schaw, v., to show, 2, 819 
Schaw, p.t., saw, 1, 212 
Schawing, schawinge, j., showing, 

teaching, I, 222, 490 
Schenand, pres. p., shining, 1, 693 
Schenis, pres. t., shines, 2, 380 
Schenschype, s., hurt, 1, 255 
Schepe, s., sheep, 1, 1121 
Scheu, v. p.t., showed, 1, 237 
Schewing, s., showing, instruction, 1, 

328 
Schewit, p.t., showed, 1, 1084 
Scho, pron., she, 1, 318 ; 2, 184 
Schole, s., school, 2, 296 
Schort, adj., short, 1, 929 
Schortly, adv., briefly, 2, 31 
Schot, p.t., shot, I, 454 ; 2, 981 
Schrawis, s. plu., thieves, 1, 459 
Schrifte, s., confession, 1, 662, 978 
Schupe, p. /., tried, made, shaped, set, 

I, 286, 368, 830 ; 2, 34 
Schure, adj., sure, 2, 1013 
Schyne, v. , to shine, 2, 284, 376 
Science, j., knowledge, 1, 68, 69 
Scilence, s., silence, 1, 336 
Sclaunderit, p.p. , slandered, I, 331 
Scorne, s., scorn, disgrace, I, 97 
Se, s., sea, 1, 100 
Se, v., to see, 1, 83; pres. p., seand, 

1, 124, 319, 408 ; 2, 630 
Sed, sede, s., seed, I, 87 ; 2, 906, 994 
Seg, s., seat, 2. 788 
Seide, s., seed, 1, 203, 406 ; 2, 1004 



232 



GLOSSARY. 



Sek, seke, adj., sick, I, 297, 300, 765, 

1234 
Sek, seke, v., to seek, reach, go to, 1, 

IOI, 103, 628, 758 ; pres. t., sekis, 

I, 630 
Seknes, s., sickness, 1, 785, 804, 1252 
Self, adj., same, I, 911. The self vay, 

the same way, 1, 911 
Semblit, p.p., assembled, I, 184 
Send, sende, p.t. and p.p., sent, I, 200, 

279 ! 2, 83, 586, 1349 
Sen, sene, p.p., seen, I, 359 ; 2, 77 
Sene, adv., soon, 1, 277 
Sene, conj., since, 1, 153 ; 2, 1330 
Ser, s., sir, 2, 500 
Sere, adj., several, various, different, 

1. 103, 371, 7S 2 . g 27. "°o 
Serefe, Sheriff, 1, 465 

Sermone, s., discourse, sermon, 2, 1089 
Sermonyng, .>., discourse, conversation, 

2, 1 101 

Service, s., course, supply, I, 390 
Seruand, s., servant, I, 60, 416 
Seruice, s., service, I, 381 
Seruit, p.p., served, 1, 394 
Serwe, v., to serve, 1, 373 
Sesyd, j., seaside, I, 257 
Set, j., seat, 2, 788 

Setand, pres . p. , setting, placing, 2, 481 
Set, p.t., directed, I, 213 
Set, p.t., set, gave, devoted, 1, 63 
Set, v., to set, place, direct, I, 132 
Set, conj., although, 2, 26 
Sete, p.t., sat, 1, 583 
Sewine, adj., seven, 2, 308 
Sey, s., sea, 1, 785 
Seynge, j., seeing, sight, I, 790 
Sic, adj., such, 1, 43, 94 ; 2, 146 
Sicht, s., sight, 2, 80, 1268 
Sick, adj., such, 2, 780 
Simpilnes, s., simplicity, 2, 11 13 
Sing, v., to sing, I, 382 
Sittand, pres. p., sitting, 1, 582; 2, 170 
Sithwar, s., moment, 2, 1542 
Skalit, p.t., scattered, 1, 205 
Skartyt, p.t., scratched, 2, 248 
Skath, s., harm, hurt, 1, 822, 834 ; 2, 214 
Skil, s., choice, 1, 773 
Slachtyr, s., warfare, 1, 821 
Sla, v., to slay, 1, 11 29 
Slane,^./., slain, I, 919, 1146 
Slawnes, s. , slowness, 2, 485 
Slepe, s., sleep, 1, 444, 702 
Slepe, v., to sleep, 1, 868 
Slepand, pres. p., sleeping, I, 869 
Slicht, s., skill, 2, 1008 
Slycht, s., skill, use, knowledge, cun- 
ning, 1, 80, 830 ; 2, 370 
Smallare, adj. comp., smaller, 1, 1445 



Smertly, adv., smartly, quickly, 1, 

T012 ; 2, 1034 
Smoryt, p.p., smothered, lie unused, 1, 

J 5 6 

Smyland, pres. p., smiling, 1, 1131 

Smyle, v., to smile, 2, 590 

Smyt, s., spot, I, 14, 138 

Sobre, adj., temperate, 1, 23 

Socht, p.t., and p.p., sought, examined, 

1, 807, 827; 2, 525, 77I.9S2 
Soget, adv., in this way, 2, 246 
Solace, s., solace, I, 588 
Solempnyte, s. , solemnity, I, 740 
Sone, s., sun, I. 694 
Sone, s., son, 1, 13, 147 ; ■plu., sonnis, 

sonnys, I, 376 ; 2, 1509 
Sone, adv., soon, I, 113, 293, 321, 403, 

1028 ; 2, 128 
Sorou, s., sorrow, 2, 113 
Sorowyt, p.t., sorrowed, I, 664 
Sounde, adj., sound, I, 526 
Sovn, j'., son, 2, 57 
Sown, sowne, adv., soon, I, 1198; 2, 

1283 
Sownd, adj., sound, I, 1 14 
Space, s., space, 1, 67 
Spak,/.A, spoke, I, 1063 
Spanly, adv., boldly, 2, 628 
Sped, spede, v., to speed, hasten, go 

quickly, I, 203, 211, 508 ; 2, 123 
Sped, p.t., sped, I, 136 
Spede, s., speed, 1, 492 
Spedfull, adj., useful, 2, 971 
Spek, v., to speak, 2, 295 
Speke, s., speech, I, 238, 793 
Spekine, s., speech, speaking, 1, 1194 
Spekyn, j., conversation, 2, 1400 
Spere, v., to enquire, 1, 118, 771 
Sperer, s. , enquirer, 2, 1 140 
Speryt, p.t., enquired, 2, 64 
Spil, v., to destroy, work harm, I, 206, 

1154 
Spilt, p.p., destroyed, put to death, 1, 

985 
Spryngand, pres. p. , springing, 2, 528 
Spyale, s,, espionage, I, 831 
Squelyt, p.t., squealed, 2, 145, 248 
Squyar, s., esquire, I, 1141 
Stable, s., solid, 1, 241 
Stafe, s., staff, pastoral staff, 1,439, 5H 
Staif, s., staff, 2, 869 
Stal, p.t., stole, 1, 492 
Stale, j., trysting place, I, 1096 
Stalouartly, adv., stoutly, 2, 1351 
Stallowart, adj., strong, 2, 11 29 
Stand, v., to stand, I, 217 ; 2, 183 
Starne, s., Star, I, 167 
Stat, state, s., state, condition, office, 

honour, I, 556, 936 ; 2, 1285 



GLOSSARY. 



233 



Statis, s., degrees, orders, 1, 374 
Stane, s., stone, 1, 260, 457, 617, 803 ; 

plu., stanys, 2, 1570 
Stane-blynd, adj. , stone-blind, 1, 1322; 

stane-cast, stone's throw, I, 896 
Sted, stede, s., place, position, 1, 457, 

989 ; 2, 840 
Sted, p.p., placed, I, 550, 947; 2, 

ion 
Steile, v., to steal; I, 448 
Stere, v., to rule, direct, 1, 64 ; 2, 482 
Sterand, pres. p., directing, 1, 191 
Stert, p.t., started, 2, 177 
Stewine, s., voice, 2, 553, 1556 
Stewyn, s., voice, 2, 62 
Stil, adv., still, I, 358, 1043 
Stinkand, adj., stinking, 2, 981 
Stith, adj., strong, 1, 946 
Stithly, adv., stoutly, 1, 839 
Stout, stoute, adj., strong, stubborn, I, 

54, 878 ; z, 350 
Strak, p.t., struck, 2. 489 
Stratly, adv., strictly, 1, 972 
Stratnes, s., strictness, 2, 406 
Strek, v., to stretch, reach, 2, 1120 
Strekit, p.t., stretched, 1, 352 
Strifine, p.p., striven, 2, 1514 
Strinth, s., strength, 1, 832 
Strinth, v., to strengthen, I, 620 
Strinthit, p.t., strengthened, 2, 942 
Stroublit, p.t., troubled, 1, 571 
Strywe, v., to strive, 2, 1351 
Stud, stude, p.t., stood, 1, 465, 650; 

2, 219 
Sture, p.p. , stored, 2, 478 
Studit,/.*., studied, 1, 725 
Succure, v., to succour, help, 1, 364, 

517 
Suddandly, adv., suddenly, stealthily, 

1, 841 

Suerdome, s., unwillingness, 1, 233 
Sufficiandly, adj., suitable, 2, 534 
Suffrant, adj., sovereign, 2, 451 
Suld, v. p.t., should, 1, 29, 576 
Sume, adj., some, 1, 797 ; 2, 550 
Sumdele, adv., somewhat, I, 1212 
Suppos, conj., although, 1, 488 
Supprice, v., to surprise, 1, 876 
Sutelly, adv., subtly, 2, 335 
Sutely, adv., subtly, 1, 39 
Sutelte, s., subtlety, 1, 44 
Suth, s., truth, 2, 19, 587, 747 
Suthfastly, adv., truly, correctly, 1, 72 ; 

2, 1060 

Swa, adv., so, 2, 843 

Swampe, adj., thin, lithe, I, 799; 2, 

1 597 
Swar, p.t., sware, swore, I, 839 
Swely, v., to swallow, 2, 1008 



Swere, v., to swear, i,< 1048 

Swet, s., sweat, 2, 1241 

Swet, adj., sweet, 2, 1566 

Swink, s., toil, 2, 1241 

Swink, v., to labour, 2, 791 

Swolline, swollyne,/./., swollen, I, 798, 

1373 
Swyth, adv., quickly, 2, 512 
Sycht, s., sight, I, 600, 1010 ; 2, 91 
Syd, s., side, 1, 188, 908 
Syndry, adj., sundry, divers, 1, 126, 

542. 1375 
Syne, s., sin, 1, 14, 17, 182, 296 
Synnis, s. plu., sins, 1, 1260 
Syne, v. , to sin, I, 55 ; 2, 351 
Syne, adv., afterwards, then, 1, 33, III, 

161 ; 2, 539, 605 
Synke, o., to sink, I, 511 
Sympil, adj., simple, lowly, humble, I, 

640; 2, 620 
Syng, v., to sing, 1, 33, 266, 696 
Syngand, ■pres. p., singing, 2, 62 
Syse, s., assize, jury, trial, 1, 1050 
Sythware, s., time, occasion, moment, 

2, 66, 491, 569 

Ta, s., toe, I, 650 

Ta, v., to take, I, 340, 496; 2, 41, 1564 

Tacht, p.t., taught, 1, 137, 483 

Taile, s., story, I, 1067 

Tak, v., to take, I, 154, 387, 834, 922 ; 

2, 122 
Tak, pres. t., take, 1, 759 
Takine, s., sign, 1, 299; 2, 1546 
Taknis, s., token, mark, I, 456 
Tald,/.*., told, I, 326, 357, 788 ; 2, 98 
Tan, tane, p.p., taken, 1, 486, 776, 945 
Tary, s., slowness, 2, 485 
Taucht, p.t., taught, 1, 40 ; 2, 336 
Taucht, p.t., delivered, 2, 687 
Teche, v., teach, 2, 541 ; /./., techit, 1, 

219 ; 2, 16 
Teching, techinge, s., teaching, 1, 81, 

595 
Techure, jr., teacher, 1, 98 
Techyng, s., teaching, 2, 662 
Teile, v., to till, plough, 2, 986 
Teleman, s., husbandman, tiller, I, 201 
Telt, p.t., told, i. 1030 
Tend, adj., tenth, 2, 1015 
Tendir, adj., tender, dear, 1, no 
Tene, adj., ten, 1, 760 
Teynd, adj., tenth, 1, 788, 1058 
Teyndirly, adv., tenderly, gently, I, 

118, 1420 
Teyndirnes, s., tenderness, 2, 736 
Tha, pron., they, I, 113 
Thai, pron., those, 1, 135, 459 
Thai,/n>«., they, I, 335, 413; 2, 551 



234 



GLOSSARY. 



Thaim, pron., them, 2, 123 

Thame, pron., them, I, 92, 435 ; 2, 

309 
Thane, adv. and conj., then, 1, 35, 45, 

283, 573, 1103; 2,69 
Thankfully, adv., acceptably, I, 64 ; 2, 

1320 
Thankit, p.t., thanked, 1, 361 
Thar, thare, pron., their, 1, 188, 210, 

25°, 9°S 
Thar, thare, adv., there, 1, 692; 2, 65, 

112 
Tharefor, conj., therefore, 1, 99, 1001 
Thareof, adv., thereof, I, 87 
Thareone, adv. and prep., thereon, I, 

507, 568 
Thare-til, adv., thereto, I, 960 
Thartill, adv., thareto, 2, 1 120 
Tharwith, adv., therewith, I, 1124 
Thaym, pron., them, 2, 724 
The, pron., thee, 1, 363, 631 ; 2, 624, 

136S 
The, v., to prosper, increase, I, 1168. 

O.E., theon, thion, to prosper 
Thef, thefe, s., thief, 1, 451, 458, 1076 ; 

plu., thefis, 1, 445 
Thene, conj., then, I, no 
Ther owt, adv., there out, 2, 215 
The wis, s., manners, 1, 241 
Thi, pron., thy, I, 148, 348, 683, 1264 
Thiddire, adv. , thither, 2, 1 195 
Thifte, 1, 977 

Thinefurth, adv., thenceforth, 2, 896 
Think, thinke, v., to think, I, 512, 718 
Thir, thire, pron., these, I, 577; 2, 283, 

825, 1370 
This, adv., thus, I, 236, 1280 
Tho, conj., although, I, 24, 625 
Thocht, s., thought, mind, 1, 139, 214, 

283 ; 2, 398, 431 
Thocht, v. p.t., thought, 1, 85, 95, 169 
Thocht, conj., though, 2, 987 
Thochtful, adj., mindful, 2, 233 
Thochty, adj., thoughtful, 2, 706 
Thole, v., to suffer, permit, I, 218, 

1 145 ; p.p.. tholyt, 280 
Tholmodnes, s., patience, 1, 1251 
Thowis, s., manners, 2, 298 
Thra, adj., wilful, 1, 54 
Thrawe, p.t., throve, 2, 49 
Thre, adj., three, I, 613 
Threching, for theching, .>., teaching. 

2, 371 
Thred, s., thirdpart, 1, 1115 
Thret, s., threat, I, 1281 
Thretty, adj., thirty, 1, 614 
Threu, prep., through, 1, 490 
Thrid, adj., third, 1, 1259 
Thring, v., to thrust, 1, 530 



Thristit, p.t., thrust, I, 516 

Throit, s., throat, 2, 1006 

Throu, prep., through, 1, 285 

Throw, prep., through, I, 175 

Thru, prep., through, I, 68, 1268 

Thrungine, p.p., thrust, 2, 1141 

Thryse, adv., thrice, 1, 772 

Thryst, s., thirst, J., 790 

Thu, pron., thou, I, 151, 679, lOOO 

Thus gat, adv., on this wise, 2, 616 

Thycht, adj., thick, I, 574 

Thyng, s., thing, 2, 612 

Tel, v., to tell, I, 348 

Til, adv., while, whilst, until, I, 144, 

501, 546 ; 2, 6 
Til, prep., to, I, 25, no, 160, 680, 736; 

2, 532 
Til giddire, adj., together, 1, 420 
Ti]l, prep., to, I, 198 
Tit, p.t., tied, 1, 984 
Todire, the other, I, 1445 
Togiddire, adv., together, 1, 774 
Ton, j., town, city, I, 144, 1 50, 73 6 > 

2, 93 
Tone, s., town, I, 370, 1007 
Tothire, the other, 1, 907 
Tothyr, the other, another, 2, 256 
Tovne, s., town, 2, 1312 
Towne, s., town, 1, 1034 
Towart, prep., toward, 2, 1 307 
Traste, s., trust, I, 67 1 
Trastely, adv., confidently, I, 1365 
Trastly, adv., truly, 1,216; confidently, 

1, 1023 
Tratour, s., traitor, I, 852 
Traualit, p.t., laboured, 1, 253 
Trawale, s., travail, I, 728 
Trawale, v., to labour, work, I, 164 ; 

p.t., trawalit, 1, 129 ; trawalyt, 

1, 1412 
Trawaling, s., labour, I, 76 
Trawele, s., labour, I, 154 

Tre, s., tree, cross, 1, 347, 538; plu., 

treis, 2, 528 
Tresone, s., treason, 1, 866, 1274 
Trespas, s., sin, 2,728 ; plu., trespasses, 

crimes, I, 969 
Trespassit, p.p., trespassed, I, 974 
Tret, v., to treat, 2, 1125; p.t., tretit, 

2, 329 ; tretyt, I, 661 
Treiily, adv., truly, I, 92, 1014 
Treuthe, s., truth, I, 562 
Treutht, s., truth, 1, 217 
Trev, v., to believe, I, 788 
Trew, v., to believe, 1, 624 
Trew, pres. t., trow, I, 719 
Trewand, pres. p., trusting, 1,493, 497 
Trewit, p.t., trusted, 2, 132 

Triste, s., tryst, I, 864 



GLOSSARY. 



235 



Trow, v., to believe, 2, 618 
Trumpat, s., trumpet, I, 909 
Trumpit, p.t., blew his trumpet, trum- 
peted, 1, 902 
Tuk, tuke, p.t., took, I, 16, 108, 411, 

443. 991 
Turment, s., torment, 1, 1340 
Turne, adj., fierce, choleric, I, 1242. 

Belgian, loornig. 
Turne, v., to turn, 2, 135 
Turnyt, p.t., turned, 2, 870 
Twa, adj., two, I, 135, 158 
Tweching, j., touching, 2, 133 
Twechit, p.t. and p.p., touched, I, 696 ; 

z. 143 
Twise, adv., twice, 1, 773 
Twyne, v., to lose, pass, 1, 813; 2, 

1619 
Tycht.A?*., drawn, I, 1331 
Tyd, tyde, s., time, 1, 886, 898 
Tyd, adj., conditioned, 2, 985 
Tyd, p.t., happened, came, chanced, 

I. 283, 430, 1250 ; 2, S3, 169 
Tyle, v., to tile, cover with tiles, I, 930 
Tym, tyme, s., time, I, 26, 431, 718 
Tyne, v., to lose, I, 1430 
Tynsale, »., loss, I, 1252 
Tynt, p.p., lost, 1, 156, 281, 1331, 

1332; 2,662 
Tyrand, s., tyrant, 2, 888 
Tyt, adv., quickly, I, 1196; 2, 979, 

1005, 1 187 
Tythand, s., tidings, 2, 956 
Tything, s., news, 2, 611 

Uertu, s., virtue, 1, 148, 602 

Uertuse, s., virtue, I, 146 

Unhyd, adj., unhidden, known, I, 1265 

Vais, s. plu., ways, I, 827 

Vakand, pres. p., watching, I, 1207 

Vaknit, p.t., awakened, I, 702 

Van, p.t., won, got, I, 884 

Vare, /./., were, 1, 394 

Vas, pres. t., was, I, 819 

Vat, pres. t., know, I, 366, 658 

Vay, s., way, I, 602, 700 

Ve, pron., we, 1, 631 

Vele, adv., well, 1, 366, 904 

Ven, v., to imagine, think, 2, 879 

Venand,/r«. p., thinking, I, 508, 1060 

Vend, p.t., supposed, 1, 899, 905 

Verkis, s. plu., works, I, 622 

Verray, </., to annoy, I, 286 

Vertu, s., virtue, 1, 21 

Vertuise, s., virtue, I, 251 

Vertuise, adj., virtuous, 1, 36 

Vertuse, adj., virtuous, I, 50 



Vertuyse, s. , virtue, 2, 300 

Ves, p.t., was, 1, 654, 691 

Vgly, adj., ugly, 2, 546 

Vicis, s. plu., vices, 1, 484 

Vil, pres. t., will, 1, 766 

Virke, v., to work, 1, 619 

Viseste, adj. sup., wisest, I, 78 

Visit, p.p., visited, 2, 1429 

Viste, p.t., knew, 1, 865 

Viste, p.t., visited, 1, 855 

Visy, v., to visit, examine, I, 559 

Visyt, p.p., visited, 2, 52 

Vit, s., wit, mind, 1, 8oi 

Vitand, pres. p., knowing, I, 891 

Vith, prep., with, 1, 740 

Vkennand, adj., unknowing, ignorant, 

1,98 
Vmquhile, adv., once, formerly, 1, 847 
Vmthocht, p.t., bethought, remembered, 

1.95° 
Vnbrynt, p.p., unburned, 2, 188 
Vnchut, for uncuth, unknown, 2, 432 
VndOj v., to undo, explain, 2, 964 
Vndir, prep., under, 1, 465 ; 2, 125 
Vndirly, v., to underlie, be subject to, 

2, 807 
Vndirstande, v., to understand, 1, 425 
Vndirstanding, s., knowledge, learning, 

1, 34 
Vndirta, pres. t., undertake, 1, 849 
Vndirtane, p.p., undertaken, I, 951 
Vndirlout, s., servant, in subjection, 2, 

349 
Vndirloute, $., subject, 1, 53 
Vnknyt, adj., separate, 1, 914 
Vnleful, adj., unlawful, 1, 780 
Vnsene, adj., unseen, 1, 1354 
Vnthrift, s., useless thing, 1, 661 
Vnwittand, pres. p., unwitting, not 

knowing, I, 901 ; x, 244 
Vod, s., wood, I, 893 
Vod, adj., void, deprived, 1, 802 
Vondir, adv., wondrous, 1, 570 
Vonderis, 0. plu. , wonders, 1, 782 
Vondrynge, s. , wondering, 1 , 645 
Vorthi, ad;., worthy, 1, 742 
Vorschipe, s., honour, 1, 821 
Vpe, adv., up, 1, 369, 1025 
Vrat, p.t., wrote, 1, 1195 
Vrisone, s., prayers, 2, 1083 
Vs, pron., us, I, 364 
Vthir, adj., other, 1, 801 
Vthire, adj., other, I, 34, 478 
Vthyre, adj., other, the other, 2, 512 
Vtrely, adv., utterly, 1, 657 
Vyne, v., to win, earn, I, 837 
Vyne, v., to win, remain, 1, 1272 
Vyse, adj., wise, 1, 484, 1230 
Vythr, adj., other, 2, 79 



236 



GLOSSARY. 



Wa, s., way, 2, 1325 

Wa, s., woe, 2, 182, 1433 

Wa, adj., grieved, I, 665 

Wak, s., watching, vigils, 2, 353 

Wake, s., watching, vigils, 1, 59 

Wakk, v., to watch, 2, 1393 

Wakkand, pres. p., watching, 2, 1398 

Wal, .>., wall, I, 216, 540 

Wald, v.pt., would, 1, 61, 70, 496, 589, 

2, 45° 
Wame, s., belly, 1, 453 
Wan, wane, p.t. , won, reached, obtained, 

1, 143. 3°4. 923; A no. 483 
Wanetreuth, s., untruth, 2, 674 
WantiSj^m-. I., lacks, 2, 505 
Wantones, s., wantonness, 1, 22, 312 
Wsmttit, p.t., lacked, I, 307 

Ware, adj., prudent, 2, 10 

War, ware, v. p.t. plu., were, I, 5, 97, 

no, 183, 282, 618; 2, 64 
Wariste, p.p. , healed. 
Wark, s., work, 1, 141, 569; 2, 1295; 

plu. warkis, I, 477 
Warkmen, s. plu., workmen, 2, 789 
Warld, s.. world, 1, 625 ; pass., I, 6; 

2, 358 

Warpyst, p.p., cast, cast off, passed, 2, 

473 
Wary t, p.p. , cursed, 2, 767 
Was, p.t., was, I, 552 
Waste, s., waste, vain, 1, 16. In waste, 

in vain, I, 16 
Waste, v., to destroy, I, 208 
Wat, pres. t. , know, 2, 21 
Wat, 2. s. pres. t., knowest, 2, 649 
Wat, p.t., knew, I, 153 
Watere, s., water, 1, 541 ; 2, 795 
Watir, s., water, 2. 229 
Wath, s., harm, danger, peril, 2, 213, 

269, 1020 
Watyr, s., water, 2, 773 
Wauld, v., to wield, use, I, 1 178 
Wayag, s., voyage, journey, 2, 1327 
Weddire, s., weather, 1, 578; 2, i486 
Weile, s., weal, 1, 1423 
Weile, adv., while, I, 134, 137, 402, 

661, 729 
Weilfar, s., welfare, z, 1538 
Weilang, adv., long, 1, 963 
Weld, v., to govern, manage, I, 20 
Wei, adv., well, 2, 36 
Wele, adv., well, much, 1, 25, 41, 49, 

136 ; 2, 243 
Welfully, adv., plentifully, I, 24 
Wellis, s. plu., wells, 2, 528 
Welth, s., wealth, I, 311 
Wemene, s., women, 1, 61 
Wemmynge, s., pollution, injury, 2, 

201 



Wen, s., doubt, 1, 355 ; 2, 132 

Wen, wene, v., to imagine, 2, 78; 1, 

576 
Wenand, pres. p., thinking, 2, 223 
Wend, p.t., thought, 1, 280 
Wene, s., doubt, 1, 395, 524 
Wend, v., to go, I, 636 
Wend, p.t., went, 2, 95 
Went, p. t., went, 1, 163, 1005 
Went, p.p., gone, 2, 1456 
Weppit, p.p. , wrapped, 2, 221 
Wer, ad/., prudent, I, 36 
Were, s., doubt, I, 497 ; 2, 236 
Were, s., danger, 2, 274 
Were, p.t., was, 1, 134 
Were, p.^., were, 1, 104, 373 
Were, adv. comp., worse, I. 1380 
Werdoune, s. , reward, 2, 1358 
Werkis, 1., works, 1, 222 
Werraly, adv., verily, 2, 20 
Werray, adj., true, I, 299 
Wery, adj., weary, 1, 14 15 
Wes, v., was, 1, 2 
Wesch, v., to wash, 2, 551 
Wescheyng, j., washing, 2, 1288 
West, p.t., knew, 2, 993 
Wetale, .>., victual, food, 2, 478 
Wete, v., to wet, 1, 584 
Wex,p.t., grew, went, I, 46 1 
Wice, s., vice, 1, 234 ; plu., wicis, 2, 

IS2S 
Wichcraft, s., witchcraft, I, 1029 
Wicht, j., creature, I, 684 
Wicht, adj., strong, redoubtable, I, 234 
Wictory, s., victory, 1, 926 
Wifis, s. poss., woman's, I, 344 
Wikit, adj., wicked, 1, 852 
Wil, s., will, consent, I, 125, 315 
Wil, v., to will, desire, i, 154 
Wilde, adj., wild, I, 430 
Wile, s., while, a short time, 2, 1363 
Wine, v., to win, gain, I, 133, 368 
Wirk, v. to work, I, 202, 422 
Wis, adj., wise, 2, 10 
Wisly, adv., wisely, I, 122 
Wist, p.t., knew, 1, 327, 494 
Wiste, p.t., knew, 1, 175, 181, 343, 

402, 489 
Wit, s., wit, wits, mind, I, 42 ; 2, 191 
Wit, s., knowledge, 2, 358 
Wit, v., to know, learn, I, 1313; 2, 

176 
Withthi, adv., on the condition, 2, 447, 

893 
Within, adv., within, I, 18 
Withoutyn, prep., without, I, 1166 
Witting, s., knowledge, 2, 1 123 
Wityne, p.p., known, 1, 1229 
Wycht, s., creature, 1, 692 



GLOSSARY. 



237 



Wmquhill, adv., once, 2, 1127 
Wntreuthtfull, adj., untruthful, 2, 846 
Wnwit, s., unwisdom, 2, 1113 
Wod, adj., mad, 2, 191 
Wod, p.t., waded, 2, 497 
Wok, p.t., watched, 2, 1468 
Wondii vverkis, s. plu., miracles, 2, 30 
Wondire, adj. , marvellous, miraculous, 

1, 222 

Wondire werkis, s.plu., miracles, 1, 222 
Wone, v., to dwell, 2, 1557 
Wonnyt, v. p,t., dwelt, 1, 18 
Wont, p.p., used, 1, 1282 
Word, s., word, I, 220 
Word, v., to become, 2, 126 
Worde, p.t., became, grew, I, 277 
Wordy, adj., worthy, I, 224 
Worth, v., to become, 2, 350 
Worthy t, p.p., became, 2, 731 
Worschipe, s., worship, 2, 3 
Wou, s., vow, 1, 1160 
Woud, adj., mad, I, 461, 473 
Wox, p.t., waxed, grew, I, 318, 912 
Wrache, s., wretch, 2, ioio 
Wrech, s., wretch, I, 994 ; 2, 254 
Wrechitly, adv. , wretchedly, i. 471 
Wrocht, p.t., worked, wrought, did, 1, 

416, 729 
Wrocht,/./., wrought, done, I, 521 
Wryt, s., writing, 1, 717 ; 2, 560. To 

wryt, in writing 
Wryt, v., to write, 2, 561 
Ws, pron., us, 1, 364 
Wycht, s., creature, I, 672 
Wyd, adv., widely, 2, 409 
Wydquhare, adv., everywhere, 2, 160, 

661 
Wyl, v., to will, desire, 1, 151 
Wyne, s., goods, I, 6 
Wyn, wyne, v., to win, obtain, gather, 

attain, 1, 56, 89, 181, 633 ; 2, 352, 
Wyneyarde, s., vineyard, 2, 1293 
Wynnare, s., winner, gatherer, 1, 91 ; 

2, 860 

Wynnyng, s., booty, I, 11 14 
Wynnyngplace, s., dwelling place, I, 

HOI 

Wyrk, v., to work, 2, 576 
Wyt, s., wit, mind, 2, 338, 670 
Wytale, s., victual, food, 2, 694 
Wytryt,/./., informed, 2, 322 
Wysdome, s., wisdom, 1, 80 



Wyse, s., way, 1, 559 
Wyse, adj., wise, 1, 116 
Wyst, p.t., knew, 1, 179 



Ya, inter/., yes, 1, 339 

Yald,p.t., yielded, I, 1051 

Yard, yarde, s., yard, vineyard, field, 1, 

132, 164, 392, 396 
Yard-stane, s., earth-stone, 2, 872 
Yare, adj., ready, 1, 1197 ; 2, 1233 
Yarnar, s., desirer, 1, 724 
Yarne, adv., earnestly, eagerly, I, 1208 ; 

2. I4S. 234. 586 
Yarnit, p.t., yearned, 1, 482 
Yarnyng, s., yearning, I, 316, 177 
Yauld./.f., yielded, 2, 100, 924 
Yddir, adv., hither, 1, 119 
Ydire, adv., thither, 1, 1408 
Ydropcy, s., dropsy, 1, 797 
Ydropesy, s., dropsy, 2, 1595 
Ydyr, adv., thither, 2, 61 
Yed, p.t., went, I, 437, 448, 455 ; 2, 90, 

191, 90S 
Yeit, adv., yet, 2, 833 
Yeld, v., to yield, direct, I, 920; 2, 

302 
Yeme, s., gem, 2, 380 
Yemsele, s., protection, 1, 1253 
Yere, s., year, 1, 28 ; 135, 613 
Yeris, s. plu., years, 1, 618 
Yerly, adv., yearly, 1, 1079 
Yete, adv., yet, still, 1, 456 
Yey, adv., yea., 2, 153 
Yhe, pron., ye, 2, 11 57 
Yhis, adv., yes, 2, 833 
Yhone, adj., yon, 2, 1021 
Ymang, prep., among, I, 384, 1 102 
Yok, s., yoke, 2, 812 
Yone, adj., yon, 1, 353 ; 2, 380 
Yongare, adj. comp., younger, 2, 669 
Youthed, s., youthhood, 2, 634 
Yow, pron., you, 1, 1173 
Ypocrit, s., hypocrite, 2, 976 
Yre, a., anger, 2, 614 
Yt, pron., it, 2, 62 
Ythanly, adv., earnestly, 1, 58 
Yu, pron., you, 1, 8 1 J, 1180 
Yung, adj., young, 1, 85, 340 
Yure, pron. , your, 11 20 
Yuthad, s., youthhood, 2, 471 
Yyng, adj., young, I, 37 ; 2, 333 



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Full text of "The legends of SS. Ninian and Machor, from an unique ms. in the Scottish dialect of the fourteenth century"

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